Abstract: Spartina alterniflora is native to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America, and it was introduced to many coastal areas of the world. Recently, this species was found threading the native ecosystems and was considered as a noxious invasive plant in many countries. Integrated physical control techniques were proved more effective on controlling S. alterniflora than single physical control techniques. For example, cutting plus waterlogging was proved to be more effective than cutting, but it was usually expensive. In this study, an integrated technique of mowing plus shading method (MS) was conducted to investigate its effectiveness for controlling S. alterniflora. The results showed that although mowing alone significantly decreased the node number, plant height and aboveground biomass after six months (P<0.05), no significant changes were found on the node length, basal item diameter, population density, fruiting ratio or inflorescence length of S. alterniflora (P>0.05). It was indicated that mowing only slow down the vegetative growth of S. alterniflora but had little effect on controlling its population. After six months using MS treatment, plant height, node number, node length, basal item diameter, aboveground biomass and population density of S. alterniflora were all significantly decreased than the mowing group and control group (P<0.05), and clonal growth and sexual reproduction of S. alterniflora were absolutely inhibited in the whole growth season. Moreover, no seedlings of S. alterniflora were found in MS treatment after six months. Our results demonstrated that MS technique was more effective on controlling S. alterniflora than single mowing, and was especially suitable for controlling small S. alterniflora communities at their early invasive stage.

Key words: Hani Rice Terraces landscape, hydrogen and oxygen isotopes of spring water, elevation effect, vertical pattern