ARUNDO DONAX THE GIANT REED

CONTENTS WHAT IS ARUNDO DONAX? HISTORY AND USES BIOLOGY INVASION POTENTIAL EXPERT SYSTEM

IMPACT – Questions 1 – 4 INVASIVENESS – Questions 5 – 11 DISTRIBUTION – Questions 12 – 15 EFFECT OF FIRE – Questions 16 – 20

DATA AND GIS SOURCES PROPOSED ANALYSIS

WHAT IS ARUNDO DONAX? Common Names: Giant Reed, Bamboo Reed, Spanish Reed,

Spanish Cane, and Wild Cane Description: Tall perennial grass; can grow 6 – 10 m in height. Origin: Sub-continental India Indigenous to: Spain, Egypt, India, Nepal, Eurasia, eastern Asia,

and the Mediterranean. Habitat: Riparian areas; wetlands; coastal habitat Dispersal: Spreads vegetatively through rhizomes. Growth form: Hydrophyte; forms massive dense stands.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arundo_donax_004.JPG; http://www.esa.org/esablog/ecology-in-policy/when-it-comes-to-invasive-species-can-we-learn-from-our-mistakes/

A B

HISTORY Intentionally distributed around the world because

of its many uses (Dudley 2000). Does well in a Mediterranean-type climate. Naturalized and invasive in many regions,

including southern Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific Islands, South America, Australia, Southeast Asia, Mexico and the United States (Hafliger & Scholz 1981).

First detected in the USA in the 1850s (Herrera & Dudley 2003), and today is invasive in sub-tropical, temperate, arid and semi-arid regions of North America (Langeland & Burks 1998).

USES Biofuel Construction Crafts Woodwind

instruments Dimethyl-tryptimine http://www.flickr.com/photos/80686584@N03/7462269180/

http://www.worldsstrangest.com/drb/living-growing-architecture/http://images.yourdictionary.com/chemist

BIOLOGY Hydrophyte. Grows along lakes, streams, drains, and other wet sites. Does not need a constant supply of water, and can grow on

drier banks and roadsides. Pale green to blue-green leaves. Younger plants resemble the common reed Phragmites

australis. Perennial C3 grass species Stems may reach 10 metres in height. Grows in large stands many metres wide, and contains

hundreds of stems per stand Does not produce viable seed in most areas where it has

been introduced. Reproduction occurs from rhizomes and stem fragments,

usually carried by flood waters.

INVASION POTENTIAL Globally invasive Regions of Mediterranean type climate Spreads vegetatively through rhizomes and

stem fragments Carried down river systems by floods Why is it successful?

http://cisr.ucr.edu/giant_reed_arundo.html

GLOBAL INVASION

BIOCLIM 2.5 MINUTE NICHE MODEL

CALIFORNIA Large area - 40 393 400 ha or 403 934 sq km California Floristic Province – a global biodiversity

hotspot Highest levels of diversity and endemism in the US Variable vegetation types Climate Primary rivers and associated catchments and

basins

ARUNDO DONAX EXPERT SYSTEM Overview of Arundo donax

Including the species classification; a species description; biology; distribution; reproduction and dispersal; habitat types

Overview of the state of California in terms of: Biodiversity; climate; vegetation and important

ecosystems

QUESTIONS 1 – 4 FOCUS ON THE IMPACT OF ARUNDO DONAX

Q1: What is the impact on abiotic ecosystem

process?

Q2: What is the impact on plant community

composition, structure, and interactions?

Q3: What is the impact on higher trophic levels?

Q4: What is the impact on genetic diversity?

QUESTIONS 5 – 11 LOOK AT THE INVASIVENESS OF ARUNDO DONAX Q5: What is the role of anthropogenic and natural

disturbance in the establishment of Arundo donax? Q6: What is the local rate of spread without

management? Q7: What is the recent trend in the total area infested

within California? Q8: What is Arundo donax’s innate reproductive

potential? Q9: What is the potential for human caused dispersal? Q10: What is the potential for natural long-distance

dispersal? Q11: Which other regions have been invaded by Arundo

donax?

QUESTIONS 12 – 15 LOOK AT ARUNDO DONAX DISTRIBUTION Q12: Where is Arundo donax distributed and

where is its peak frequency? Q13: What is the extent of invasion in the

United States? Q14: In what type of vegetation does the

species occur in its home range? Q15: Is Arundo donax a habitat specialist in

its home environment?

QUESTIONS 16 – 20 LOOK AT THE EFFECTS OF FIRE Q16: Is intense fire a prominent characteristic

of the home environment and does the area have a fire adapted biota?

Q17: Does fire play a role in dispersal? Q18: What is the typical fire return time in the

home environment?

DATA SOURCES LOCATION DATA

GBIF – http://data.gbif.org/species/2703041/ CALFLORA - http://www.calflora.org/ Cal-IPC - http://

ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_consort.pl SPATIAL DATA

DIVA-GIS – variety of shapefiles and bioclim data sets

Cal-Atlas: Geospatial Clearing House - http://atlas.ca.gov/download.html

PRELIMINARY MODEL - CALIFORNIA

ANALYSIS Look at extent of invasion globally and locally

Point data into grid data to look at different indexes of diversity (e.g. species richness)

Climate Modelling using DIVA-GIS and the bioclim 10min current and future climate data sets

Mapping endangered species occurrences and correlating with Arundo distribution models (will use target species such as amphibians, fish and riparian vegetation)

This will enable one to map priority levels for management decisions.

ACCESSABILITY Blog

Datasets and metadata Final project Expert system Links GIS Glossary

REFERENCES Bell, G.P. (1997) Ecology and management of Arundo donax, and approaches to riparian habitat

restoration in southern California. Plant invasions: studies from North America and Europe. (eds J.H. Brock, M. Wade, P. Pyšek & D. Green), pp. 103-113. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Bromilow, C. (2001) Problem plants of South Africa – a guide to identification and control of more than 300 invasive plants and other weeds. Briza Publications, Pretoria.

Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation. [web application]. 2013. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: http://www.calflora.org/ (Accessed: Jun 02, 2013)

DiTomaso, J.M. 1998. Biology and ecology of giant reed. Proc., Arundo and saltcedar workshop. Las Vegas, NV; Iverson, M.E. 1998. Effects of Arundo donax on water resources. CalEPPC News 6:10-11

Dudley, T. 2000. Arundo donax. In, Invasive Plants of Californias Wildlands. Eds., C. Bossard, J. Randall, and M. Hoshovsky. UC Press, Berkeley; Team Arundo Del Norte, www.teamarundo.org/index.html;

Hoshovsky, M. 1986. Arundo donax. The Nature Conservancy Elements of Stewardship Abstract. Tncweeds.ucdaivs.edu/esadocs/arundona.html; also much observational data (T. Dudley, C. Bossard, J. DiTomaso, etc.)

Langeland, K.A. & Burks, K.C. (1998) Identification and biology of non-native plants in Florida’s natural areas. IFAS Distribution Centre, University of Gainesville, Florida.

Perdue, RE, (1958). Arundo donax—Source of musical reeds and industrial cellulose, Economic Botany 12: 368–404.

http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/california_hotspot/overview.htm http://www.natureserve.org/images/caPlantRichness.jpg http://ceres.ca.gov/ceres/calweb/biodiversity/evolution.html