Crassula helmsii: Use salt water to kill plants

How is the evidence assessed?
  • Effectiveness
    80%
  • Certainty
    45%
  • Harms
    not assessed

Study locations

Key messages

  • Two replicated, controlled container trials and two before-and-after field trials in the UK found that seawater eradicated Crassula helmsii.

 

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

  1. A replicated, controlled container trial and a small, replicated, before-and-after field trial in 2006–2009 at a grazing marsh in Essex, UK (Charlton et al. 2010) reported that flooding with seawater eradicated C. helmsii, although no statistical tests were carried out. In the container trial, C. helmsii turfs grown in seawater were described as ‘appeared to be dead’ after five months, but those in freshwater and brackish water were still growing. In the field trial no C. helmsii was observed at the end of the seawater flooding period nor 9-11 months after seawater was drained. In the container trials, 15 x 15 cm C. helmsii turfs were placed in 15 l containers and checked every 6-7 days. Four were covered with brackish water (2,000 μS electrical conductance), four with seawater (30,000 μS) and four with freshwater. Field trials were carried out at two sites reported as having ‘abundant and widespread’ C. helmsii. An 8 ha field and a 120 ha field were flooded with seawater to 5 cm above the usual winter water level from April 2006-January 2007 and January-December 2009 respectively. C. helmsii was surveyed between August 2007 and August 2010.

    Study and other actions tested
  2. A replicated, controlled study in containers in 2011 in Dorset, UK (Dean et al. 2013) found that increased water salinity led to decreased growth rate in C. helmsii. C. helmsii growth rates were highest in the freshwater control (0.05 g/day), and declined as the salinity of the water increased (0.015 g/day in 2 parts per thousand, 0.005 g/day in 4 ppt and a loss of 0.010 g/day in 8 ppt). After 31 days C. helmsii in the 8 ppt salinity treatment had died. Nutrient concentration did not affect growth rate. Ten gram samples of C. helmsii were grown outdoors in 5 l plastic containers in September-October and sampled after 31 days. Three salinities and a freshwater control were tested at three different nutrient concentrations, and each treatment combination was replicated four times.

    Study and other actions tested
  3. A before-and-after trial in a coastal grazing marsh in Hampshire, UK (EPPO 2014) reported that inundation with salt water nearly eradicated C. helmsii, although no statistical tests were carried out. One year after the seawater treatment, 99% of C. helmsii had been killed. The plant only remained in places not reached by the seawater. Two years after the treatment the salt level had reduced to 2 ppt, but the original flora had not returned. The site was flooded with seawater in July 2008 and then naturally filled with rainwater in autumn 2008. C. helmsii cover was assessed in 2009. No details about the depth of flooding or size of site were provided.

    Study and other actions tested
Please cite as:

Aldridge, D., Ockendon, N., Rocha, R., Smith, R.K. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Some Aspects of Control of Freshwater Invasive Species. Pages 555-87 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

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Control of Freshwater Invasive Species

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Control of Freshwater Invasive Species
Control of Freshwater Invasive Species

Control of Freshwater Invasive Species - Published 2017

Control of Freshwater Invasive Species Synopsis

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What Works in Conservation provides expert assessments of the effectiveness of actions, based on summarised evidence, in synopses. Subjects covered so far include amphibians, birds, mammals, forests, peatland and control of freshwater invasive species. More are in progress.

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