Melaleuca in the Everglades

1
Melaleuca in the Everglades

• Mike Bodle
• Vegetation Management Division
• South Florida Water Management District

2
Early Awareness

• Recognized as a problem
• in the early 70s (FL FWCC)
• Skepticism concerning ability
• to control

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• There is very real potential that all the
  sawgrass in South Florida could eventually become
  melaleuca forest.
• -Mark Maffei, 1989

4

• Were basically talking everything in South
  Florida except the coastal ridge.
• -Ted Center on melaleuca
  distribution in South Florida, 1989

5

• Its a tree from hell.
• -Dan Thayer, 1990

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• Only a continued and cohesive blitzkrieg will
  achieve solid melaleuca control.
• -Mike Bodle, 1990

7

• Melaleuca is a biological disaster for South
  Florida.
• -Congressman E. Clay Shaw, 1990

8

• Melaleuca quinquenervia is now poised to expand
  throughout the Everglades. The time for
  integrated management of the tree has come.
  Combined efforts and methods will, hopefully,
  reverse this weeds expansion.
• -Melaleuca Management Plan for South
  Florida, 1990

9

• The current level of melaleuca infestation in
  South Florida and the potential for continued
  alteration of natural habitats by this invasive
  biological pollutant signal that the need for a
  statewide melaleuca management program is now!
• - Ken Langeland, 1990

10

• Were getting kind of panicky, man.
• -Tony Pernas, 1993

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Melaleuca ManagementHistorical Background

• 1975 - Two Melaleuca workshops (FL FWCC)
• 1980 - Melaleuca symposium (FL Div. Forestry)
• 1982 - Exotic woody plant conference (Fairchild)
• 1984 - Exotic Woody Plant workshop (ENP)
• 1984 - Exotic Pest Plant Council formed
• 1986 - ENP Initiates Control Program
• 1988 - EPPC Exotic Pest Plant Symposium
• 1990 - Melaleuca Task Force

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Melaleuca Task ForceJanuary 1990

• Jointly convened by
• Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council
• South Florida Water Management District
• gt30 participants
• Federal, state, local government
  representatives, scientists, NGOs, private
  industry
• Objective
• Develop a comprehensive strategy for managing
  melaleuca throughout its range in Florida

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Melaleuca Management Plan

• May 1990 - 1st ed.
• April 1994 - 2nd ed.
• revised to include most recent information
• May 1999 - 3rd ed.
• revised to update information
• recommendations changed to reflect progress

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Melaleuca Management PlanEPPC Management Plan
Approach

• Summarize current ecological knowledge
• identify research gaps
• Summarize existing control technologies
• what is working, and where
• Identify control technology research needs
• developing biological controls, improving
  chemical and mechanical controls
• Develop plan to integrate and coordinate efforts
  regionally

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Melaleuca Management PlanDefining the Problem
Extent of infestations

• South of Hwy 60
• Mainly concentrated near areas of early plantings

Early Assessment

• Various techniques tried
• satellite images
• false color infrared
• aerial reconnaissance
• Estimates varied
• 495,300 - 2.5 million acres

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Melaleuca Management PlanDefining the Problem
Summarize invasion of native habitats

• Sawgrass prairies
• Cypress heads
• Pinelands

Ecological questions

• Reproductive ecology
• Florida vs. Australia

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Melaleuca Management PlanDefining the Problem
Summarize available control options in 1990

• Many herbicides tried
• Effectiveness varied
• Initial treatments result in dense, even-aged
  seedling stands
• Treated trees often resprout
• Mechanical removal very expensive unsuited for
  most natural areas

Melaleuca tree that was controlled with
herbicides surrounded by doghair seedlings
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Melaleuca Management PlanRecommendations

• Research
• develop biological control agents
• search for better ways to use herbicides
• Develop ways to measure of infestation level
• fill gaps in ecological knowledge
• Operations
• Education

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Melaleuca Management PlanRecommendations

• Research
• Operations
• establish melaleuca-free zones around ENP, Big
  Cypress, WCAs, Holey Land, Lake Okeechobee
• apply strategy of first removing outliers, then
  moving progressively closer to focus of each
  infestation
• monitor sites for regrowth/seedlings up to 4
  years post-treatment retreat as needed
• Education

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Melaleuca Management PlanRecommendations

• Research
• Operations
• Education
• inform government officials about magnitude of
  problem need for funding
• inform resource managers of best control options
  opportunities resource sharing cost-sharing
• inform general public of problem encourage
  removal of trees on private property

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Melaleuca Management PlanImplementing the Plan
How quickly do infestations grow?

• Aerial photos of 1 mi2 areas (13600 scale)
• 8 areas in Dade Broward Counties
• 25 yrs to go from 5 (30 acres) to 95 (600
  acres) cover

Source Laroche Ferriter 1992 J. Aquatic Plant
Manage. 30 62-65
1965
1990
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Melaleuca Management PlanImplementing the Plan
How much?

• Aerial surveys (SFWMD)
• flight lines every 2.5 mi
• coordinates (GPS) density recorded for every
  occurrence
• Conducted biannually
• 488,000 acres in 1993
• 453,000 acres in 1995
• 391,000 acres in 1997
• 359,000 acres in 1999

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Melaleuca Management PlanImplementing the Plan
Strategy
Halt expansion
Eliminate existing stands

• mechanical removal
• treat with herbicides

Seed/sapling mortality
Reduce seed production

• hand-pull saplings
• treat with herbicides
• damage by biocontrol
• insects

• damage by
• biocontrol insects

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Melaleuca Control in by Ground application in
Pennsuco Mitigation Area
April 1998
February 1999
October 2000
October 2001
October 2003
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Melaleuca Management PlanImplementing the Plan
Perform herbicide trials

• Ground application
• Hack/squirt - completely girdle tree
• Cut Stump - treat stumps shortly after cut
• Aerial application
• Determine effective herbicides
• use microfoil boom with small (0.02) nozzle
• overlap spray paths by 50

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Crew Transport

• Airboat
• Helicopter a necessity in early days of
  control in Everglades
• ATV/ Buggy

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Melaleuca Management Expenditures (FY 91-01)
South Florida Water Management District 21,649,32
2 Big Cypress National Preserve
2,579,000 Everglades National Park
3,548,000
Areas under Maintenance Control
Water Conservation Areas 2A, 3A, 3B 600,000
acres Lake Okeechobee 100,000 acres Everglades
National Park 200,000 acres Big Cypress
National Preserve 100,000 acres
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Distribution of Expenditures
Ground Application 75 Aerial
application 15 Biocontrol 10
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Conceptual Model
Herbicides and Mechanical Control
Biological Control
Reliance
Time
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Melaleuca Management PlanRecommendations

• Research
• develop biological control agents - Yes
• search for better ways to use herbicides - Yes
• Develop ways to measure of infestation level -
  Yes
• fill gaps in ecological knowledge - Yes
• Operations
• Education

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Melaleuca Management PlanRecommendations

• Research
• Operations
• establish melaleuca-free zones around ENP, Big
  Cypress, WCAs, Holey Land, Lake Okeechobee -
  So-so
• apply strategy of first removing outliers, then
  moving progressively closer to focus of each
  infestation Yes on most pubic lands
• monitor sites for regrowth/seedlings up to 4
  years post-treatment retreat as needed Yes on
  most public lands
• Education

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Melaleuca Management PlanRecommendations

• Research
• Operations
• Education
• inform government officials about magnitude of
  problem need for funding - Yes
• inform resource managers of best control options
  opportunities resource sharing cost-sharing -
  Yes
• inform general public of problem encourage
  removal of trees on private property - Yes

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