A little something on Reed Canary Grass that was sent to me recently-
Quoting:
Reed Canarygrass Mellow in Europe, Aggressive in America
Reed Canarygrass Mellow in Europe, Aggressive in America
BURLINGTON, Vermont, February 27, 2007 (ENS) - A new study of reed canarygrass has led to the discovery of a novel mechanism that explains why some plant species become aggressive when introduced in new territory.
In its native European range, reed canarygrass does not push out other species or expanding its terrain. But, first introduced into the United States in the mid-19th century, it has run rampant, choking out native plants in wetlands. The grass is now considered an invasive pest in about ten states and its range is growing.
According to research published in the Feb. 27 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences," the invasive power of this grass, comes not from any one individual plant, but from this history of multiple introductions from different regions of Europe.
Over decades, U.S. farmers and others have planted the grass as livestock feed, for erosion control, and for wastewater treatment, taking plants from places as far apart as France, the Czech Republic and Finland.
These multiple introductions, and subsequent interbreeding, create a kind of biological stacked deck, the researchers said. By drawing on genetic variety from across the European continent, new strains have emerged in the United States with higher genetic diversity and more potentially advantageous qualities than their species brethren across the Atlantic.
"It's not that you're taking the ones in France and moving them to the US and they're suddenly invasive," said study coauthor Jane Molofsky, associate professor of plant biology at the University of Vermont. "It's that you move some plants, and then you move some from somewhere else and they recombine here to form something better, genetic superstars."
This has significance far beyond the headache of reed canarygras, the researchers concluded, showing that invasive species can evolve extremely rapidly.
