Ok, so I literally spent Earth Day with my hands in the Earth. I came home from work and attempted to remove the soil from underneath my fingernails. I say attempted because the dirt taunts me even as I write this a day later. I don't really mind. This week we were a part of our most effective weed management project to date. My fingernails are the trophies in a grand ecological experiment that really shouldn't be as earth shattering (harhar) as it is.
Tall whitetop (Lepidium latifolium) is a noxious weed that is taking over habitats of Northern Nevada. It takes loose, oxygenated, fungally rich soil and turns it into a compacted, anaerobic nightmare. The whitetop likes this environment, which is fortunate for the whitetop because none of the native species can survive in such soil conditions. Herein lies our problem. So what can we do about the acres of whitetop that infest this region?
Conventional weed wisdom suggests that we use chemicals (and lots of them) to eliminate the species. Not only are chemicals expensive (Problem #1), they will also kill any existing native vegetation (Problem #2). Furthermore, the chemicals do nothing to restore the damaged soil conditions (Problem #3). Chemical treatments inspire the somewhat unrealistic hope that we can actually eliminate the weed (Problem #4). And, we sadly admit, noxious weeds are a greater and more pressing problem all over the world.
This is where my friend Katie and other weed specialists are rocking the weed management boat. Why don't we use mechanical treatments instead? Yes, it may not kill the plant immediately but neither does chemical treatment (apparently). It is more labor intensive, but it restores soil conditions but disrupting the compacted soil. Repeated pullings, they theorize, will eventually require the plant to exhaust its extensive root system and then die. In the meantime (this is my favorite part) they will reseed the area with native plants that hold the same ecological niche as the tall whitetop. Thus the whitetop will be less likely to reinvade the area. Even if it does invade, it won't be in the devastating populations that exist today. Genius! Oh, and in a fantastic twist of fate, the whitetop detritus will be composted and then spread across the restored soils.
Weed management programs, amongst other areas of conservation work, need to adopt similarly holistic approaches. It makes me giddy. Just in time for Earth Day!
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