Massive Effort Will Eradicate Invasive Species

THE STAR’S VIEW: Non-native plant species are as harmful to the Sonoran Desert as development. Elimination can begin by refusing to use those plants in landscaping.

Tucsonans, individually and in groups, can help eradicate destructive invasive species before the plants destroy the Sonoran Desert we know.

Over the weekend, Star reporter Tom Beal wrote that invasive grasses are mostly to blame for this year’s fires in desert lowlands. A plant called Saharan mustard provided fuel for the Goldwater Fire, which charred 55,000 acres. The Cave Creek Fire north of Phoenix started as a fire in the desert. Fuel for that was red brome, which, like Saharan mustard, came here from the Mediterranean.

In one of nature’s ironies, Sonoran Desert plants can weather the most extreme heat and drought. But they cannot live through wildfire. Rugged saguaros, ironwoods, palo verdes and the animal habitat they provide appear tough enough for any of nature’s challenges. In reality, while they are heat- and drought-tolerant, these plants and the animals they host will likely be eradicated by fire.

In addition to deadly fires, invasive species choke out the natives and in doing so, habitat. Because of that, ecologists consider invasive species a threat to habitat loss equal to that of development. One reason wildfires are so destructive is that invasive species grow more densely than native species. When a fire starts, invasive grasses burn superhot and quickly. Native grasses, on the other hand, don’t grow as densely as the invaders. And they die back when they dry out, unlike the invaders.

Fountain grass, used as an ornamental in home landscaping, spreads along roads and washes. And it produces lots of seed and lots of offspring. Buffelgrass was brought here as forage for cattle and is still used by ranchers in Texas.

A massive undertaking to a successful cleanup of the Sonoran Desert will have to include a public education campaign. Such organizations as the Arizona Native Plant Society are working to educate the public and people in the landscaping business about the dangers of non-native species.

Carianne Funicelli, a board member of the Arizona Native Plant Society, said her organization has been working on coordinated outreach efforts to spread the word about the damage caused by the non-natives.

The simplest thing a homeowner can do to help the native species survive is to reject landscaping with invaders. Some of the more commonly used invaders in home landscaping are fountain grass, the African sumac tree, bermuda grass and the Mexican bird of paradise. A homeowner, she said, might want to choose a palo verde or an ironwood tree over an African sumac tree when landscaping.

Yet another suggestion from Funicelli is to have homeowners contact retailers to tell them they would prefer the retailer carry native species.

Among the groups hoping to save the desert through invasive species eradication is the Sonoran Desert Weedwackers. Members go out regularly into Tucson Mountain Park to remove unwelcome species. As of March, they had pulled 26 tons of non-native plants from the deserts.

Funicelli said the public education campaign has become more widespread in the past several several months. In March, buffelgrass was declared a noxious weed by the state of Arizona for its destructive fire potential. Massive campaigns such as this have to start at the most effective level – getting individuals first to recognize the problem and then to do something about it. In this case, the least anyone can do is to reject noxious and unwelcome plants at home and demand retailers and landscapers reject them, too.

– M.H.

For more information about the Arizona Native Plant Society, go online to aznps.org