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Managing Melaleuca (Melaleuca quinquenervia) in the Everglades

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

François B. Laroche
François B. Laroche*
Affiliation:
South Florida Water Management District, 3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33406
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Abstract

Until recently melaleuca was spreading at a rate faster than it was being controlled throughout the boundaries of the South Florida Water Management District (District). Although melaleuca is a difficult species to eradicate, apparently District efforts, along with those of other governmental agencies and private groups, are containing its spread within the Everglades Water Conservation Areas (WCAs) and the marsh of Lake Okeechobee. Melaleuca has been completely cleared from WCA-2A, -3B, and -3A, south of Alligator Alley. These areas are now under “maintenance control.” Maintenance control means applying management techniques in a continuous basis to keep an invasive plant population at its lowest feasible level. Today, the melaleuca infestation is no longer increasing; in many areas, it is being reduced. Preliminary results from the latest District survey indicate melaleuca infestation has decreased considerably in South Florida, especially in public lands. The intent of this paper is to provide an assessment of progress made by the District's melaleuca control program over the past 7 yr.

Keywords

Melaleuca, Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) Blake # MLAQUHexazinonetebuthiuronimazapyrtriclopyrglyphosateMLAQUBCNP, Big Cypress National PreserveENP, Everglades National ParkFDEP, Florida Department of Environmental ProtectionFGFC, Florida Game and Fresh-water Fish CommissionFP&L, Florida Powers and LightLNWR, Loxahatchee National Wildlife RefugeMTF, Melaleuca Task ForceSWIM, Surface Water Improvement and ManagementUSACE, United States Army Corps of EngineersUSDA, United States Department of AgricultureWCA, Water Conservation Area
Type
Symposium
Information
Weed Technology , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , December 1998 , pp. 726 - 732
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 by the Weed Science Society of America 

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