"Florida Gulf Coast University... on land owned by the university. Staff and students at the university studying the impact of melaleuca trees on native trees. This is the 10-year anniversary of the study. .... Scientific name: Melaleuca quinquenervia... Origin: Australia and New Guinea Introduction: Melaleuca was introduced to South Florida in 1906 as an ornamental for landscaping and in the 1930s as a way to help dry up wetlands melaleuca trees absorb four times as much water as native vegetation. Range in Florida: 16 counties, as far north as Hernando, Lake and Brevard counties Habitat: Prefers seasonally wet sites, but can flourish in standing water and well-drained uplands exotic ... Melaleuca... out-competes native vegetation and forms dense stands where nothing else grows...
The goal of this 10-year study, in its final year, is to answer specific questions about melaleuca. Its results might lead to better ways to manage exotic vegetation. ... studying the long-term effects melaleuca has on native vegetation... comparing... measurements to measurements taken since 1997 to check growth rates. ... In... mature slash pines are the dominant tree. In... others, natives are mixed in with melaleuca. ... Why melaleuca has run other vegetation out in some places... and not in others? Were trying to understand how melaleuca becomes dominant, said Win Everham, director of FGCUs environmental studies program. Then we might be able to apply that to other exotics. How does an exotic come in and become king? ... Melaleuca has no impact, for example, on mature slash pines... the trees must go... disposing of the trees in five ways: Some will be cut and hauled off the site; Some will be cut and left where they fall; Some will be cut and stacked on site; Some will be cut and mulched, and the mulch will be spread on the site; Others will be killed with herbicide where they stand. Everham will then see how each method of disposal affects new growth of native vegetation. ... But there might be ways to get rid of them better. Whats cheaper? Whats most effective? What has the greatest long-term impact? ... Everham also has come up with an experiment for three orchid species butterfly orchids, jingle bell orchids and pine pinks found on the plot. Orchids on native vegetation and dead melaleuca will be left alone, and orchids on live melaleuca will be moved to native vegetation elsewhere on campus before the trees are cut. The orchids then will be monitored to check survival rates and answer more questions: How well do transplanted orchids hold up? Will removing the thick melaleuca canopy harm light-sensitive orchids by letting too much light in?" article URL : http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070405/NEWS0105/704050369 ************** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
