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PCA Southern Arizona Region
Information about the Buffelgrass invasion affecting Southern Arizona and the Tucson area.
BUFFELGRASS 101 (excerpted from the Explorer newspaper web site .. see below.)
- WHAT IS IT? Native to most of Africa, buffelgrass is a noxious perennial weed that was introduced to the
Sonoran Desert in the 1930s and 1940s as a means of erosion control. It remains popular as forage for grazing
livestock in Mexico and Texas.
- WHY IT'S A PROBLEM: It spreads quickly, filling in bare areas in the desert and taking water from native
plants. It has a low ignition threshold, so a buffelgrass-fueled fire can spread quickly. Native plants,
especially saguaro cacti, cannot recover from frequent fires.
- CONTROLLING IT: Herbicides only work if the grass is actively growing. Manual removal - pulling the weed
out by its roots - works best.
Buffelgrass Information Center
Here you will find background information, stories, videos and more.
Pima Association of Governments Buffelgrass information
This site shows how the effort to stem the advace of Bufflegrass has developed over the past several years.
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum: Citizen Scientists Combat Invasive Species
The Explorer Newspaper: Staving off buffelgrass's burn
Sustainable Tucson: Volunteers needed to help remove buffelgrass Feb 7th
Saguaro National Park,
National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior: Public and media fire stories
Tree of Life Web Project:
A Deadly Invasive Species: Buffelgrass
Tucson Citizen Newspaper:
Plant society rewards group's buffelgrass work
The University of Arizona School of Natual
Resources and the Envronment: Taking a Stand on Buffelgrass
Science Daily:
Buffelgrass, An Invader Fueling Wildfires In The Sonoran Desert
Environment News Service:
Invasive Buffelgrass Threatens Giant Saguaros
Newswise:
An Exotic Grass Kills Trees by Hijacking Their Water
US Geological Survey Science Blog:
Buffelgrass, an Invader Fueling Wildfires in the Sonoran Desert
For detailed information about our survey and, in particular, how the data for the charts were obtained,
please see this link.
For community service overview information see this link.
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