Arundo Donax: An Invasive Species
Arundo Donax as an Invasive Species
An invasive species is a species of plant or animal that was introduced to a new habitat by humans, intentionally or otherwise. Invasive species are also defined as being harmful to the environment and ecosystem to which they are introduced, frequently changing the nature of the system (What is an Invasive Species? 2015). Arundo donax is one such species. It is a plant similar to reed or bamboo in that it is tall and straight in appearance. While Arundo donax is a dangerous species of plant that can severely harm native wildlife, it can also be beneficial to the area as a whole.
Arundo donax is an invasive species that is part of the Arundinoideae subfamily. It is similar to other types of cane not only in …show more content…
Arundo donax is a very flammable plant. This is mostly due to it producing a larger amount of dead biomass than most other native plants, such as herbaceous or wood based plants. The dead biomass comes mainly from parts of the plant that die, either from getting damaged or removed from the root system. In many of the locations in which it grows, it greatly increases fire risk by making the area more flammable, provides more sources of ignition, increases fire intensity and spread rate (Giant reed, 2009). In the likelihood of a fire, which will be not only more likely but also more destructive due to the spread of Arundo donax, large areas can become almost completely devoid of plant and animal life. Fire doesn’t suppress the spread of Arundo donax very much due to its large root system. So even in the case of a fire, it can quickly restore itself to its former …show more content…
Plants are the ones effected the most when Arundo donax establishes itself in an area. Due to the Arundo donax’s ability to grow from just a small part of a stalk, it can completely take over an entire region from just a piece of the plant landing there, spreading through it like wildfire. Because of the fact that it has very few natural enemies in its new environment it grows nearly completely out of check, using its extreme growth rate to completely outcompete other plant life, monopolizing large parts of available water and other resources. Also blocks out the sun potentially harming the plant life as
An invasive species is a species of plant or animal that was introduced to a new habitat by humans, intentionally or otherwise. Invasive species are also defined as being harmful to the environment and ecosystem to which they are introduced, frequently changing the nature of the system (What is an Invasive Species? 2015). Arundo donax is one such species. It is a plant similar to reed or bamboo in that it is tall and straight in appearance. While Arundo donax is a dangerous species of plant that can severely harm native wildlife, it can also be beneficial to the area as a whole.
Arundo donax is an invasive species that is part of the Arundinoideae subfamily. It is similar to other types of cane not only in …show more content…
Arundo donax is a very flammable plant. This is mostly due to it producing a larger amount of dead biomass than most other native plants, such as herbaceous or wood based plants. The dead biomass comes mainly from parts of the plant that die, either from getting damaged or removed from the root system. In many of the locations in which it grows, it greatly increases fire risk by making the area more flammable, provides more sources of ignition, increases fire intensity and spread rate (Giant reed, 2009). In the likelihood of a fire, which will be not only more likely but also more destructive due to the spread of Arundo donax, large areas can become almost completely devoid of plant and animal life. Fire doesn’t suppress the spread of Arundo donax very much due to its large root system. So even in the case of a fire, it can quickly restore itself to its former …show more content…
Plants are the ones effected the most when Arundo donax establishes itself in an area. Due to the Arundo donax’s ability to grow from just a small part of a stalk, it can completely take over an entire region from just a piece of the plant landing there, spreading through it like wildfire. Because of the fact that it has very few natural enemies in its new environment it grows nearly completely out of check, using its extreme growth rate to completely outcompete other plant life, monopolizing large parts of available water and other resources. Also blocks out the sun potentially harming the plant life as