Goats Better Than Chemicals For Curbing Invasive Marsh Grass | Duke Environment
▻https://nicholas.duke.edu/news/goats-better-chemicals-curbing-invasive-marsh-grass
DURHAM, N.C. — Herbivores, not herbicides, may be the most effective way to combat the spread of one of the most invasive plants now threatening East Coast salt marshes, a new Duke University-led study finds.
Phragmites australis, or the common reed, is a rapid colonizer that has overrun many coastal wetlands from New England to the Southeast. A non-native perennial, it can form dense stands of grass up to 10 feet high that block valuable shoreline views of the water, kill off native grasses, and alter marsh function.
Land managers traditionally have used chemical herbicides to slow phragmites’ spread but with only limited and temporary success.
Now, field experiments by researchers at Duke and six other U.S. and European universities have identified a more sustainable, low-cost alternative: goats.