Tamarix (Salt Cedar) Biocontrol Program

Salt cedar or tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) was quarantined by the Kansas Department of Agriculture in 2004 and has currently displaced approximately 1.6 million acres of native vegetation in the western United States. Salt cedar is an invasive riparian shrub from Eurasia and was originally sold as an ornamental or planted for steam bank stabilization. It is a plant that is characterized by having a fast seedling growth rate allowing for quick establishment, profuse seed production with mature plants, increased soil salinity contributing to its invasive nature, and elevated water usage as compared to native species.

A leaf feeding beetle, Diorhabda elongota, has the potential to biologically control salt cedar but it may take up to three years for a colony of beetles to kill a single salt cedar. This is due in part to the large carbohydrate reserves located in the extensive root system of the salt cedar. Currently, Kansas has two release sites of Diorhabda, one at Kirwin Lake National Wildlife Refuge and the other at Webster Lake, both in western Kansas. These releases took place in 2005 and the extent of their success will not be known for several years.

Kansas has a 10 year plan for control and revegetation of tamarisk infested lands. This plan is available courtesy of the Kansas Water Office.

Tamarisk 10-Year Plan