Bioremediation, well, kind of…

I am sure some of you have heard of kudzu…at least those of you interested in invasive species. This vine is all over the American South and grows at an unbelievably rapid 1 foot/day. That means you could probably sit back, have a cold one, and watch this stuff grow, for real. The problem is that this vine, an invasive from Asia that arrived in Philadelphia in the 1800s and was then used by federal programs to combat erosion or kept and planted as an ornamental plant (it has nice purple flowers), out-competes our local flora and literally takes over the land and anything, including houses, on it. Farmers and government officials and anyone else that cares about plants, have been trying to figure out effective ways to combat this stuff…and of course, all of the familiar old tactics, like chemicals or equipment, have been considered and used.

But one city in Tennessee, Chattanooga (yes, it is the choo-choo), has come up with an innovative method to combat the plant. They are employing goats. Yes goats. According to an article in the NY Times, many people find this amusing. Goats eat everything, as most of us well know, and are pretty awesome at consuming this vine before it has a chance to consume the landscape. They can get onto steep slopes where equipment cannot be used and are relatively low-maintenance. The program has, thus far, been successful, and is environmentally friendly.

cape, car, farm, local, media, NYTimes, Plants

Jennifer Veilleux is a former Boren Fellow and visiting scholar at Central European University and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. She was assistant editor International Politics and has contributed to E/The Environmental Magazine and The Tamarak. She currently lives in Washington, DC where she is associate editor of a university press.

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3 Comments on “Bioremediation, well, kind of…”

Susie
I used to live in Georgia and know all about kudzu…. they are all over the place! this is topic of discussion and humor in the South. They were even thinking about coming up with recipes for this plant… good to know that they are finally solving the problem and in an Eco-friendly fashion.
06/09/07 » 5:40 pm »
E.R. Dunhill
The idea seems charmingly simple. I read an article a year or two ago about the use of goats to graze-down brush in hilly areas with high risk of fire. Who knew goats were so green?
-erd
06/12/07 » 6:29 am »
Beth
This is wonderful! I was in Georgia last year and couldn’t believe how much kudzu was all over the place. Now we should get them to come to my neck of the woods to eat all the garlic mustard and multiflora rose.
06/22/07 » 7:25 pm »