> Perhaps it should not have been introduced in the first
> place, but who could say?
Maybe in some localities kudzu is really bad, but it is hard to beat the
introduced grasses when it comes to subverting ecosystems on a continental
scale. Bluegrass and downy brome come immediately to mind. I think that
quackgrass too is a Eurasion introduction but I am not sure. There are many
other examples.
> In agriculure "exotics" are the rule rather than the exception.
The badness of this is really an matter of values. It all depends on how
much one values the "pristine" wilderness, and how pristine you want the
wilderness (or farm) to be.
> But now that it is here, kudzu's status as "biological pollution"
> says more about our own mismanagement of our ecosystems
> ("natural" or otherwise) than it does about kudzu itself.
I don't know about that. Some of these introductions are so powerful (in
their new surroundings) that it is very hard to control them by management.
> Kudzu is now a "natural" element of our landscape; it does
> little good to satanize it as a "threat"
I agree in general, but again, it depends on how much you value things like
native prairie.
Dale
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