California Sea Grant College Program

Arundo donax (giant reed) is a tall grass that is native from the lower Himalayas and invaded the Mediterranean region, prior to its introduction in the America's (Rieger and Kreager, 1989; Granval, et al., 1993; Abissy and Mandi, 1999). It is suspected to first have been introduced to the United States in the 1700s, and in the Los Angeles area in the 1820s by Spanish settlers (Bell, 1993, Iverson, 1993 #1573). Its primary use was for erosion control in drainage canals. A number of other uses for Arundo have been identified. It is the source of reeds for single-reed wind instruments such as clarinet and the saxophone (McFadden and others 1992, Popov and others 1990; Perdue 1958, Van Der Wegen and others 1991). In Europe and Morocco Arundo is used for waste-water treatment (Abissy and Mandi, 1999), such as nutrient and heavy metal removal, and water volume evapotrans-piration. The high rate of evapotranspiration by stands of this species, used as a benefit in these countries, is one of the characteristics that is detrimental in the California ecosystems invaded by Arundo.