Project HomeIn the summer of 2004 through the summer of 2006, APHIS and the Grand County Weed Control Board orchestrated the release of several thousand saltcedar leaf beetles at multiple locations along the Colorado River. The goal of the beetle release was to facilitate an aggressive long-term eradication and restoration program in eastern Utah. The beetle has shown considerable success locally in defoliating tamarisk and in some cases has traveled km from the release points. Nevertheless, neither local, state, nor federal agencies have coordinated a comprehensive monitoring program to assess spatial patterns of beetle migration and impact on tamarisk habitat or water resources within the Colorado Plateau region. We are currently monitoring the beetle's impacts on tamarisk and riparian ecohydrology at the University of Utah's Entrada Research Station in late spring of 2007 resulting complete defoliation of tamarisk by mid-summer (Figure 1). We are currently measuring tamarisk transpiration fluxes, leaf area, and fluctionations in groundwater depth to monitor ecohydrological feedbacks of tamarisk physiology, ecosystem nitrogen cycling, and riparian community structure.
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Figure 1 - Stands of tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima) in August, 2007 at the Entrada Research Station and Education Center near Moab, Utah. The tamarisk were invaded by the saltcedar leaf beetle in early summer, resulting in patches of brown canopies along the Dolores River that runs through the Entrada. |
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