MOWING AND HERBICIDE APPLICATION TO CONTROL <i>Megathyrsus maximus</i>: DAMAGE ON PRE-EXISTING VEGETATION IN A 20-Y REFORESTATION SITE

Authors

  • Maurício Cruz Mantoani
  • Jézili Dias
  • José Marcelo Domingues Torezan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5902/1980509824212

Keywords:

adaptive management, Alien invasive species, Glyphosate.

Abstract

The need to control exotic grasses in areas of ecological restoration for long periods is followed by high economical costs of application, collateral damage on regeneration and other less obvious environmental harms. Thus, measure such drawbacks in order to evaluate the cost/benefit rate of the application grass control techniques is necessary. This study aimed to assess the damage caused by two control techniques of Guinea-grass (Megathyrsus maximus (Jacq.) B. K Simon & S. W. L. Jacobs), on pre-existing regeneration (environmental costs) in a 20-y reforestation site and estimate the economic costs of employing such techniques. Thirty 10x20m plots were divided into three groups: (T1) control, (T2) mowing alone (using gas-powered brush cutters) and (T3) mowing followed by the application of a glyphosate-based herbicide. We did a permanent inventory of all tree and shrub individuals, who were followed over a period of one year. No differences were found in mortality imposed by the initial mowing, nor in the mortality imposed exclusively by mowing and in the mortality imposed exclusively by herbicide in T3. After one year, there were no differences between mortality and species richness of the three groups. However, when the three groups were compared with themselves after one year, for plants > 1 m, we found a reduction on abundance in T1 and reduction in species richness in T3; whereas for plants < 1 m, the T2 showed a reduction in abundance, and T3 showed reduced abundance and species richness. Therefore, both techniques seem to affect  more strongly  the plants < 1 m. The final economic cost of T2 was 34.1% bigger than the cost of T3, and in spite of a likely reduction in costs to perform new interventions, proportional costs increased for scattered interventions over small areas. Both techniques were efficient to control Guinea-grass, but the use of glyphosate-based herbicide should be restricted to low canopy cover areas, more maintenance-demanding sites, as long the technique is more damaging on regeneration, since there was high mortality (73%) of individuals < 1 m in areas with dense grass infestation (100%).

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Published

2016-09-30

How to Cite

Mantoani, M. C., Dias, J., & Torezan, J. M. D. (2016). MOWING AND HERBICIDE APPLICATION TO CONTROL <i>Megathyrsus maximus</i>: DAMAGE ON PRE-EXISTING VEGETATION IN A 20-Y REFORESTATION SITE. Ciência Florestal, 26(3), 839–851. https://doi.org/10.5902/1980509824212

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