Ammophila arenaria<\/em> is in the Poaceae family. It is native to northern Europe and\u00a0spread from plantings from the late 1800s to the late 1900s. Andrea Pickart has\u00a0written that European beachgrass is the most pervasive exotic plant species\u00a0currently threatening coastal dunes on the west coast of the U.S. and is invasive in\u00a0every major dune system from Santa Barbara County to the northernmost dunes of\u00a0Washington and has widely displaced a native dune grass, the circumboreal\u00a0American dune grass (Elymus mollis)<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n In San Luis Obispo County,\u00a0Ammophila arenaria<\/em>\u00a0was planted for\u00a0sand stabilization and has spread throughout the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes and\u00a0Morro Bay. It was planted to aid construction of the La Grande Dance Pavilion in\u00a0the early 1900s south of Arroyo Grande Creek. It is a perennial grass 1 to 4 ft tall,\u00a0with long, rigid, tough, waxy blades with sharp tips. European beachgrass spreads\u00a0from rhizomes. Ammophila rhizomes may survive in the ocean and can be\u00a0redeposited onshore to create new populations. Populations may extend inland to\u00a0over half a mile.<\/p>\r\n From its ability to trap and stack sand Ammophila may create tall,\u00a0steep and durable foredunes that excludes other vegetation and eliminates habitat\u00a0for dune arthropods, California Least Terns and Western Snowy Plovers. It is a\u00a0threat to rare plant species such as Surf thistle (Cirsium rhothophilum<\/em>) and Beach\u00a0spectacle pod (Dithyrea maritima<\/em>). Interest in controlling Ammophila began about\u00a01980, but success was not encountered until the 1990\u2019s. Implementation of control\u00a0efforts on a large scale are underway throughout the west coast. Digging out Ammophila is labor and cost intensive and may harm archaeological sites. The most\u00a0successful method involves spraying Imazapyr. This may be followed\u00a0with a controlled burn to create space and conditions for native plant restoration.<\/p>\r\n Text and photos by Mark Skinner<\/p>\r\n <\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.19.11″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cnpsslo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dunegrass-2.png” _builder_version=”3.19.11″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cnpsslo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dunegrass-1.png” _builder_version=”3.19.11″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ammophila arenaria is in the Poaceae family. It is native to northern Europe and spread from plantings from the late 1800s to the late 1900s. Andrea Pickart has written that European beachgrass is the most pervasive exotic plant species currently threatening coastal dunes on the west coast of the U.S. and is invasive in every major …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7807,"featured_media":6771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[406,281],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n