# Presentation: 410443

## GeoResources Institute

**www.gri.msstate.edu**

**NASA Proposal:  Invasive Aquatic Plants**
**John D. Madsen**
**GeoResources Institute and**
**Department of Plant and Soil Sciences**
**Mississippi State University**

## GeoResources Institute

**MSU / NASA Research Purpose**

-  Provide a cost-effective remote sensing tool for the monitoring of invasive aquatic plant populations

- Madsen

## GeoResources Institute

- Benefits of Aquatic Plants

-  Stabilize lakes sediments, reducing resuspension
-  Increase sedimentation, reducing turbidity
-  Provide habitat for insects, forage fish, fish spawning and YOY fish
-  Provide food for waterfowl, other animals

- Madsen

## GeoResources Institute

- Nonindigenous vs. Native Community

*Myriophyllum spicatum*

*Vallisneria americana*

## GeoResources Institute

**GeoResources Institute**

**Growth Forms of Aquatic Species **

- MDNR 1994

## GeoResources Institute

**Target Species for NASA Proposal**

-  EMERGENT:  Purple loosestrife, *Lythrum salicaria*
-  FLOATING:  Waterhyacinth, *Eichhornia crassipes*
-  SUBMERSED:*  *Hydrilla,        *Hydrilla verticillata*

- Madsen

## GeoResources Institute

**Purple loosestrife  **
***Lythrum salicaria***

-  Emergent herbaceous perennial
-  Common invader to wetlands
-  Reduces wetland plant diversity
-  Degrades wildlife habitat

- Hybridizes with ornamental varieties

## GeoResources Institute

**Purple Loosestrife Distribution**

-  Purple loosestrife is a common invader to wetlands in northern and mid-continentalstates

## Waterhyacinth

**Waterhyacinth**
***Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms***

-  Floating rosette with showy purple flower
-  Vegetative reproduction from daughter plants on stolons; some reproduction from seed
-  Native to Central and South America
-  Worldwide #1 aquatic weed

- Inflorescence

- Seedling

- Seeds

- Parent and daughter plant

- Pictures by Madsen

## GeoResources Institute

**Waterhyacinth Distribution**

-  Gulf and S Atlantic States, CA
-  Largely under maintenance management in FL

## GeoResources Institute

**Hydrilla *****Hydrilla verticillata***

-  Hydrilla (*Hydrilla verticillata* (L.f.) Mich.),
-  Severe noxious plant in southern US, spreading northward
-  Contaminant in commercially-available water lilies
-  Spreads by tuber, turion, and fragment
-  Two biotypes found in US

- Madsen

- R.M. Stewart

## GeoResources Institute

**Hydrilla Distribution**

-  Dioecious biotype in southern areas (S CA, TX, LA, MS, AL, GA, FL, TN, NC
-  Monoecious biotype in WA, N CA, VA, NC, DE, PA, NJ, CT, MA, ME

## GeoResources Institute

**Study Approach**

-  Small-scale studies to capture spectral and temporal (phenological) features
-  Landscape studies with existing data to evaluate patch size
-  Landscape studies with co-collection of ground truth data

- Madsen

## GeoResources Institute

**Small-scale studies**

-  Small populations on MSU campus (situations shown are at Lewisville, TX)

- Madsen

- Madsen

- Madsen

## GeoResources Institute

**Small-scale studies**

-  **Temporal features:**  Bimonthly  measurements of plant growth, phenological state
-  **Spectral features:**  Bimonthly (or monthly) measurements of spectral quality related to growth stage

- Madsen

## GeoResources Institute

**Collaborative landscape studies **

- Utilize existing datasets collected by management agencies around the country matched to past satellite data

- Madsen

- Interact with potential users around the country

## GeoResources Institute

**Map of Collaborator States**

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**Landscape Assessment**

-  Regional populations of purple loosestrife, waterhyacinth, and hydrilla will be evaluated using NASA satellite assets with time-linked ground-truth
-  Point-intercept maps before classification
-  Classification points re-visited for analysis

## GeoResources Institute

**Field Point Intercept Survey**

-  Navigate to set points in lake or wetland
-  Species and environment attributes recorded
-  Return to points classified by satellite image interpretation for verification

- Madsen

- Madsen

## GeoResources Institute

**www.gri.msstate.edu**

**Integrated Invasive Species Research at Mississippi State University**
**MSU/USGS Joint Project**
**GeoResources Institute**
**David R. Shaw, Director**

## GeoResources Institute

**MSU / USGS Project Components**

-  Research
-  Management-oriented efforts on invasive aquatic and terrestrial plants and invasive invertebrates
-  Extension and Outreach
-  Rapid dissemination of information in a web-based format
-  Regional Coordination
-  State and Mid-South Invasive Species Alliances

## GeoResources Institute

**Task Areas**

-  Invasive Aquatic Plant Research
-  Invasive Terrestrial Plant Research
-  Cactus Moth and Native Cactus Distribution Detection Network
-  Extension and Outreach
-  Regional Coordination

## GeoResources Institute

**Conclusion**

-  Management goal is maintenance of low invasive plant population with diverse native plant community at most economical cost

- Before management of invasive plant

- After management of invasive plant

## GeoResources Institute

**Contact**

- Dr. John D. Madsen
- Mississippi State University
- Box 9652
- Mississippi State, MS 39762-9652
- Ph. 662-325-2428 Fax 662-325-7692
- E-mail jmadsen@gri.msstate.edu

- Chetta Owens

- Madsen