Abstract

NATALE, Evangelina  and  REINOSO, Herminda. The importance of flood events on the establishment of seedlings and cuttings of saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima). Ecol. austral [online]. 2016, vol.26, n.1, pp.1-6. ISSN 1667-782X.

The expansion of invasive plants is considered one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. The environments more threatened by the presence of exotic invasive species are the riparian areas due to their small surface and high diversity. The advance of Tamarix in these environments may be linked to transient conditions of higher water availability, which would allow initial colonization. The objective of the present work was to determine which hydric conditions promote germination and establishment of Tamarix cuttings by measuring in the laboratory the effects of different periods of flooding. It was observed that the germination was high under irrigation at field capacity and was decreased after 10 days of flood, while the establishment through cuttings required at least 15 days duration of a flood event. These results will contribute to the identification of critical environmental conditions that facilitate the establishment of the genus in new areas and guide actions for its early control.

Keywords : Biological invasion; Stress; Salinity; Plants.