Soil solarization as a method for reducing viability of invasive woody seed bank The case of Acacia saligna

Biological invasion by plants is one of the most upsetting issues for conservation managers. Acacia saligna is considered as an invasive plant in the Mediterranean regions of Israel, Turkey, Cyprus, South Africa and Australia. This species produces an immense number of seeds that remain viable for many years, which enables the spread of the species. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of soil-solarization treatments on the viability of A. saligna seeds at four soil depths (0-3, 3-6, 6-9 and 9-12 cm). We analyzed three soil solarization treatments: (i) standard, (ii) intensive and (iii) extremely intensive. The results indicate that temperatures of solarized soil (temperature fluctuations between 35-90°C during 24 hours for 30 days) reduced seed viability completely at all soil depths. Proceedings 10th MEDECOS Conference, April 25 – May 1, 2004, Rhodes, Greece, Arianoutsou & Papanastasis (eds) © 2004 Millpress, Rotterdam, ISBN 90 5966 016 1