E. Corrie Pieterson
Friday, October 17, 2008 - 2:00-2:30
Lygodium japonicum (Japanese climbing fern) is an invasive exotic species present throughout the southeastern United States. It is capable of growing as a dense groundcover, smothering underlying vegetation, and can also grow to the mid-canopy level by way of its climbing growth habit. Because of its negative ecological and economic impacts, L. japonicum is listed as a noxious weed in Florida and Alabama, and is classified as a Category I invasive plant by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council and the South Carolina Exotic Pest Plant Council. In the southeast, L. japonicum is found in a variety of habitats including fire-maintained systems such as longleaf pine. The Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, located in southwestern Georgia, is an 11,300 hectare property including approximately 6,000 acres of longleaf pine. Lygodium japonicum was first recorded on this property in 1947. At the Jones Center, fire was investigated as a potential component of an integrated pest management (IPM) plan for Japanese climbing fern. Plots with high densities of L. japonicum present (≥70% cover) were treated with prescribed burning; control plots were not burned. In a randomized block design, each block (burned or unburned) was divided into four subplots which were subsequently treated with glyphosate; imazapyr; glyphosate + imazapyr; or no herbicide treatment. Percent cover of L. japonicum was measured post-fire and post-herbicide treatment to monitor initial kill and subsequent regrowth. Fire may be a useful component of a multi-treatment approach to controlling this invasive exotic pest plant.
Keywords: LYGODIUM JAPONICUM, JAPANESE CLIMBING FERN, INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT, LONGLEAF PINE, EXOTIC SPECIES