Miller, James H.; Manning, Steven T.; Enloe, Stephen F. 2010. A management guide for invasive plants in southern forests. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–131. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 120 p.
In areas where water level can be manipulated, flooding or drawdowns can reduce invasive plant species in aquatic and wetland habitats but is usually not effective as a stand-alone treatment. This method is species and site specific. For effective outcomes, managers must first understand the biology of both invasive and native plants in the treatment area. Water-level manipulation works by either lowering water levels to kill invasive plants that cannot tolerate exposure to dry and hot conditions or raising water levels to kill invasive plants that cannot tolerate submergence or water-logged soils. However, both processes can spread floating seeds of invasives and make habitats more vulnerable to nonnative plant establishment. Lowered water levels in spring and summer can also facilitate herbicide applications in wetlands for controlling such plants as alligatorweed [Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb.].
