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00)715 PROBLEMS OF LAND MANAGEMENT IN THE VARIOUS PHREATOPHYTE ZONES by J. S. Hortonll U.S. Forest Service, Tempe, Arizona Water shortages in the West began to become apparent about the same time that tamarisk, frequently known as saltceclar, spread so aggressively along the major flood plains. The word IIphreatophyte,1I which means water-loving vegetation, was also coined in the same period. To many people, therefore, the three terms are very closely interwoven--salt- cedar almost synonymous with phreatophyte, and phreatophytes to be the main source of water shortages. It is now becoming more and more appar- ent that the land occupied by phreatophytes presents a problem not soley in plant eradication, but also in land management to bring about proper use of all resources inherent in these areas. Wherever there is water in the wildlands of the West, there is potential for corollary develop- ment of recreation or production of wildlife. The management of phreato- phyte areas then must take into consideration not only salvage water, but potential use of the area for recreation and wildlife. The situations in which water-loving species thrive vary greatly throughout the West, and I shall attempt to divide this vegetation into general classes which often merge. Historically, areas dominated by tamarisk have been of primary interest to those dealing with the phreatophyte problem and the high water use of this species was early recognized (Gatewood, et al. 1950). Therefore, at the risk of making the discussion of the other plant types anticlimactic, I will start with the discussion of tamarisk--its origin, ecology, and position as an aggressive phreatophyte in the West. Tamarisk was introduced as an ornamental very early in the last century. We know that it was sold in nurseries in New York as early as 1823, and from this introduction it was spread as an ornamental throughout the entire United States (Horton, 1964). Robinson (1965) reports it was being sold in California nurseries by the 1850's. The first indication of its becoming naturalized was a report in 1877 of tamarisk naturalized on Galveston Island in Texas. In the Southwest we have references to tamarisk becoming naturalized as early as 1901. Incidentally, this was at Tempe, Arizona, where it was observed growing along the Salt River. Thornber (1916), in a University of Arizona report, advocated the use of tamarisk for windbreaks and shade around dry-land homesteads. At the same time, he noted that l/ Principal Plant Ecologist, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service, U.S. Dept. Agriculture, in coopera- tion with Arizona State University; central headquarters are maintained at Fort Collins, Colorado, in cooperation with Colorado State University.