Impacts of Imazapyr and Triclopyr Soil Residues on the Growth of Several Restoration Species

Abstract

Herbicides are frequently used in natural systems to control invasive plants, but nontarget impacts from persistent soil residues can result in unintended ecosystem effects. Imazapyr and triclopyr are herbicides that are widely used in noncrop areas such as rangelands to manage perennial weeds, especially woody species such as tamarisk (saltcedar). Due to widespread environmental and anthropogenic changes in the American southwest, tamarisk, which is commonly thought to co-occur only with riparian plants, is increasingly being found in communities of upland rangeland species. Using an in vitro study combined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses, imazapyr and triclopyr degradation rates were determined in six Colorado soils. In addition, the relative sensitivity of desirable species to the two herbicides was determined in a field dose response study. Exponential decay models estimated that triclopyr degradation (half-lives of 5−16 days) was 20 times more rapid than imazapyr degradation (half-lives of 82−268 days). All species tested were sensitive to imazapyr residues, but the degree of sensitivity was strongly dependent on soil properties. Sensitive species (alkali sacaton and western wheatgrass) were tolerant of imazapyr residues in some soils 20−23 months after applications. Relatively insensitive species (slender wheatgrass) were tolerant of imazapyr residues in the same soils 10 months after applications. American licorice was sensitive to triclopyr residues up to 89 days after applications, and several grasses (including sideoats grama) showed minor sensitivity. Our study indicates that there is an interaction between the spatial variability in herbicide degradation driven by edaphic properties and the sensitivity of plants to a herbicide, which could be exploited by management practitioners to aid in site rehabilitation. Specifically, managers could stagger planting of species temporally on the basis of their sensitivity to herbicide residues or could target areas of treated sites for planting that are known to have soil types facilitating relatively rapid herbicide degradation.