SPARTINA CONTROL STRATEGY OF CHINA

Spartina is a kind of very important and invasive grass. In its native range, it is very important for erosion control, fish, wildlife, and estuary reclamation. Therefore, it was introduced to many countries. Since 1963, it was introduced to China. Up to now, it was intentionally or accidentally planted nearly all estuaries in the east coast of China and the area was estimated over 0.1×106 hm2. As other introduced plants, Spartina grows very vigorously in China, and this caused many environmental and economical problems. So, it is an emergency to develop a Spartina control strategy of China. In the paper, the history of Spartina introduction in China was reviewed, and several methods which were probably feasible for China to control Spartina were introduced, including physical/mechanical (such as mowing, digging, and dredging), chemical, and biological methods. Before taking any measurments to control Spartina, 2 things should be done. The first was to develop a plan and make an inventory; the second was to select a feasible method according to local climatic, economic, social, and ecological conditions. It was suggested that it would be very important to assess the possible effect of control methods on the environment in order to prevent from causing other environmental problems.