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Managing Spread from Rhizome Fragments is Key to Reducing Invasiveness in Miscanthus × giganteus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Natalie M. West ,
David P. Matlaga  and
Adam S. Davis
Natalie M. West*
Affiliation:
U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service Global Change and Photosynthesis Research Unit, Urbana, IL 61801
David P. Matlaga
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA 17870
Adam S. Davis
Affiliation:
U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service Global Change and Photosynthesis Research Unit, Urbana, IL 61801
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: nmwest@illinois.edu
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Abstract

Miscanthus × giganteus, a widely planted biofeedstock, is generally regarded as a relatively low invasion concern. As a seed-infertile species, it lacks a consistent mechanism of long-distance dispersal, a key contributor to invasion rate, and constitutes a low risk for cultivation escape. However, agricultural production shelters plants from stochasticity and increases propagule pressure, enhancing the potential for low-risk species to take advantage of rare dispersal opportunities. Weed risk assessments of M. × giganteus assume the rarity of events such as scouring and flooding that would facilitate secondary dispersal of vegetative rhizome fragments and the long-term sexual inviability of escapes. Combining data from small-scale rhizome fragmentation and movement experiments, and estimates from the literature, we parameterized an individual-based model to examine M. × giganteus spread given three dispersal scenarios. We further evaluated our estimates in response to different field edge buffer widths and monitoring intensities, two key strategies advised for containing biofuel crops. We found that clonal expansion from the field edge alone was sufficient to allow the crop to outgrow buffers of 3 m or less within 11 to 15 yr with low monitoring intensities. Further, models that included the possibility of rhizome dispersal from fields and scouring at field edges demonstrate the potential for long-distance dispersal and establishment with inadequate management. Our study highlights the importance of considering minimum enforced management guidelines for growers to maintain the ecological integrity of the agricultural landscape.

Keywords

Giant Miscanthus, Miscanthus × giganteus J. M. Greef and Deuter ex Hodk. and RenvoizeBioenergybiofuel cropsinvisibilityMiscanthusrhizome dispersal
Type
Research Article
Information
Invasive Plant Science and Management , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , September 2014 , pp. 517 - 525
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

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