WOODY PLANTS 



Invasion of woody plants on wet areas of irrigation systems is 

 limited to a few species that tolerate wet or saturated soil areas, at least 

 periodically. Most of these plants are referred to as phreatophytes, 

 which is a term descriptive of plants that obtain their water supply 

 from the soil saturation zone either directly or through the capillary 

 fringe. 



Some of the woody weed species that fall in this category are 

 saltcedar, cottonwood, willows, and wildrose. Although this grouping 

 of weed plants deviates somewhat from the scope of true aquatic pests, 

 they are included to emphasize their importance to the irrigator. 

 Saltcedar is the one species that should be correctly identified in case 

 of its invasion of a new area, because of its aggressiveness and apparent 

 increasing range of adaption in the United States. 



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