USDA illiilllll United States Department of Agriculture Field Guide for Managing Buffelgrass in the Southwest n Forest Southwestern - Service Region TP-R3-16-03 Revised June 2017 Cover Photos Upper left: Buffelgrass clump – Travis Bean, Univ. Arizona Upper right: Buffelgrass collar with hairs – Southern Arizona Buffelgrass Coordination Center, buffelgrass.org Lower left: Buffelgrass infestation – USDI National Park Service Lower right: Buffelgrass inflorescences – Southern Arizona Buffelgrass Coordination Center, buffelgrass.org In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at 3 and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632- 9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250- 9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: [email protected]. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. Printed on recycled paper Buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris L., synonym: Pennisetum ciliare L.) Grass family (Poaceae), Paniceae tribe Buffelgrass is an introduced forage grass that has become • Normally warm season and intolerant to cold invasive in southwestern States. Due to its threat to the temperatures but at lower elevations can grow in Sonoran Desert ecosystem, buffelgrass has been listed as a moderate temperatures during winter after rainfall. noxious weed in Arizona. Shade tolerant; shade may promote growth on some sites. Generally requires summer moisture to thrive. This field guide serves as the U.S. Forest Service’s recommendations for management of invasive buffelgrass • Rapid growth; germinates from seed, matures, and in forests, woodlands, rangeland, desert, and desert scrub flowers within 6 weeks after rainfall of at least 0.75 associated with its Southwestern Region. The inches and a period of moist soil lasting 3–5 days. Southwestern Region covers Arizona and New Mexico, • Flat leaf blades (3–12 inches long, 0.1–0.3 inches which together have 11 national forests. The Region also wide), scabrous or with long, soft hairs; sheaths open, administers 4 national grasslands that are located in keeled, glabrous to having sparse, long, soft hairs; northeastern New Mexico, western Oklahoma and the collar region with sparse, whitish, straight hairs about Texas panhandle. 0.2 inches long. Description • Purplish to reddish, bottlebrush-like inflorescences (0.8–5.1 inches long); spikelets in clusters of 2–4, each Buffelgrass (synonyms: anjangrass, African foxtail grass, with 2 flowers (lower floret reduced); spikelets tan, zacate buffel) is a drought-tolerant bunchgrass originally beige, or slightly orange at maturity; spikelets fall off from African savannah that was introduced into the U.S. whole from the rachis. for forage and erosion control. However, many of the traits that make buffelgrass desirable as a forage grass also • Reproduces from apomictic (asexually formed) seed; cause it to be highly invasive in native plant communities. seed usually lies dormant 3 to 18 months and is viable for at least 3–5 years. Buffelgrass has a number of cultivars and is variably classified across two very closely related grass genera – Ecology Cenchrus and Pennisetum. Key characteristics useful for Impacts/Threats buffelgrass identification include a bottlebrush-like Although buffelgrass is used as forage for livestock, it is inflorescence and light-colored hairs that occur near the an unwanted weedy invader in many arid regions of the junction (collar) where leaves meet the stem. Buffelgrass world. Buffelgrass is a particularly serious threat to the is similar in appearance to fountain grass (Cenchrus Sonoran Desert in Arizona and the lower Rio Grande setaceus, syn. Pennisetum setaceum), which is an escaped Valley in Texas. It can out-compete native vegetation for ornamental grass. However, buffelgrass is generally soil nutrients and moisture. In addition, infestations of shorter (1 to 1.5 feet tall) than fountain grass (3 to 4 feet) buffelgrass alter fire regimes in native plant communities and has shorter, thicker inflorescences (1.5 to 5 inches by changing fire frequency and intensity through an long) compared to fountain grass (4 to 14 inches). increase in fuel loading and connectivity. Buffelgrass re- grows quickly following wildfire; however, fire can kill or Growth Characteristics injure nearly all native plant species in Sonoran Desert • Tussock-forming perennial grass; typically 1 to 1.5 communities. As a result, buffelgrass has the potential to feet in height but can grow to over 3 feet. Knotty and displace native plant communities and change ecologically branching at base; tillers often have secondary rich areas into near-monocultures of buffelgrass with branching that give plants a subshrub-like decreased diversity, cover, and densities of native plants. (chaemaphytic) appearance. 1 Site/Distribution 1. Develop a specific action plan to meet goals and objectives for infested areas, which may include Buffelgrass is spread widely across disturbed and eradicating new buffelgrass infestations in sensitive undisturbed areas in the Southwest, which includes urban sites or controlling buffelgrass in managed areas, roadsides, rangeland, old fields, and desert plant landscapes, e.g., wildland-urban interface (WUI) communities. It is commonly found on rocky, south-facing areas. slopes in Arizona uplands. The species has been planted as a forage grass on re-seeded rangeland in certain parts of 2. Evaluate infested sites to determine which treatment Texas and Mexico. methods (or combination of methods) are most effective for buffelgrass control. Chosen methods Spread should focus on stopping seed production and Seed is spread by wind, water, animals, and vehicles. mitigating impacts from fire. A combination of Whenever buffelgrass becomes established near roads and various treatment methods and repeated treatment ditches, the opportunity for spread is increased. will often improve effectiveness. Invasive Features 3. Give priority to early detection of buffelgrass and Buffelgrass spreads aggressively by seed and grows in eradication of new infestations in otherwise healthy dense stands that can double in cover every 2–3 years. The sites. For established infestations, the perimeter and species is highly adaptable and grows on many soil types any satellite populations should be treated first to including soils that are heavy, sandy, or overlying prevent further encroachment. limestone. It is often more effective at capturing soil 4. After treatment, implement monitoring and follow- moisture than native plant species, thereby contributing to up treatment for missed plants and seedlings. To its invasiveness. deplete the buffelgrass seed bank, treatments need to be repeated annually for several years and can be Management repeated within a growing season if rainfall causes Buffelgrass is a major threat across large areas of the regrowth and green-up. Also, monitor recovery of Southwest, particularly in the Sonoran Desert and lower desirable native plants following control efforts. Rio Grande Valley. To undertake effective buffelgrass 5. Limit disturbance and maintain healthy plant control at this scale, collaboration among affected communities that can help prevent or limit new stakeholders is essential, especially stakeholders managing infestations. This may involve using improved pathways (road systems, utility corridors, etc.) by which grazing management practices to prevent excessive buffelgrass can invade. A major emphasis for stakeholders grazing and/or reseeding areas with desirable native should be to reduce buffelgrass fuel loads and connectivity grasses and forbs after disturbance. thereby diminishing the likelihood of wildfire. Another management emphasis should be to maintain or restore the 6. Detect, report, and map buffelgrass populations that resiliency of native plant communities. Indications of have spread out over large areas. Also map presence treatment success during restoration include the return of and condition of native vegetation. Keep annual native plant species and an increase in species diversity. records