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Weed Management Guideline for Tamarisk and Russian Olive <br />August 4, 2005 <br />Introduction <br />Salt Cedaz (Tamarix ssp) is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing 12-15 feet in height and forming <br />dense thickets. Salt Cedar establishes in azeas where seedlings can be exposed to extended periods of <br />saturated soil for establishment. Salt Cedar can grow on highly saline and alkaline soils. It spreads <br />vegetatively, by adventitious roots or submerged stems, and sexually through flowers that can each <br />produce thousands of tiny seeds. Seedlings require extended periods of soil saturation for establishment. <br />Salt Cedaz establishes in disturbed and undisturbed streams, waterways, bottomlands, banks, and drainage <br />washes of natural or artificial water bodies, moist rangelands and pastures. <br />Russian olive is a member of the Oleaster family. Russian olive is an introduced, deciduous, shrub or <br />small tree usually 12 to 45 feet tall. It can grow up to 6 feet per yeaz. At three years of age, plants begin <br />to flower and fruit. It forms a dense, rounded crown. Near the ground its branches spread from t 0 to 20 <br />feet. It has a deep taproot and well-developed lateral root system. Because Russian olive is capable of <br />fixing nitrogen in its roots, it can grow on baze, mineral substrates and dominate riparian vegetation where <br />overstory cottonwoods have died. Russian olive establishes in disturbed azeas, successional fields, <br />pastures, roadsides, and has escaped to invade prairies, open woodlands, and forest edges. <br />Problems <br />Salt Cedaz and Russian olive disrupt the structure and stability of native plant communities and degrades <br />native habitat by out competing and replacing native plant species, monopolizing limited sources of <br />moisture, and increasing the frequency, intensity and effect of fires and floods. Once established, they are <br />difficult to control and neazly impossible to eradicate. Management of these species requires along-term <br />commitment and usually involves a combination of control methods such as mechanical and chemical for <br />success. With these growth characteristics in mind, the following outline was developed to assist <br />operators in controlling Salt Cedar and Russian olive on permitted mine lands. <br />