Research and Development for Biological Control of Arundo Donax | W81EWF 25 SOI 0004

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81EWF 25 SOI 0004

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is offering a cooperative agreement to support research on biological control of Arundo donax (giant cane) in southern California. The focus is applied and operational: ERDC wants field-relevant evidence on whether approved biocontrol insects can be effectively deployed under southern California conditions, and how that control translates into benefits for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) operations such as flood risk management, channel capacity, and long-term vegetation management. The opportunity anticipates that the work could naturally split into at least two major lines of effort: first, figuring out the best ways to release and monitor biocontrol agents (what to release, where, when, and how to measure establishment and spread), and second, measuring how biocontrol affects the plant itself, including water-use efficiency, growth, and how it allocates biomass (which matters for regrowth, fuel loads, and the amount of material that ends up in channels).

The need for this work is driven by how damaging giant cane can be in river corridors and other disturbed, water-associated habitats, especially in arid regions. Arundo donax is a tall perennial grass (roughly 4 to 8 meters) that spreads in the United States only clonally, primarily through extensive rhizome networks and fragmentation. Those underground rhizome mats can become extremely thick (reported up to about three feet), which makes the plant resilient and hard to eradicate: even after cutting or herbicide treatments, the rhizomes can fuel rapid regrowth. In southern California waterways, dense stands can outcompete native vegetation, alter habitat, and consume large volumes of water. The funding notice highlights a striking example: one estimate attributed about 56,200 acre-feet per year of transpired water to Arundo along the Santa Ana River, an amount equated to the needs of around 190,000 people, with an estimated municipal cost of roughly $25 million in lost water value. Beyond water loss, the plant creates operational and public safety problems by clogging channels and reducing conveyance capacity. The notice cites the Los Angeles River near Glendale Narrows, where infestation-related impacts were associated with a reduction in storm conveyance from a 25-year event to a 2-year event, affecting over 6,000 people and putting about $1 billion in property value at risk.

Current management is also extremely expensive and labor-intensive. In the Los Angeles area, the notice states that giant cane management costs can exceed $250,000 per acre, largely because it often requires repeated herbicide applications followed by ongoing handling of accumulated biomass and sediment. These realities are why biological control is being pursued as a longer-term, sustaining tool rather than a one-time treatment. California already has two approved biocontrol agents for Arundo donax: Tetramesa romana (the Arundo gall wasp) and Rhizaspidiotus donacis (the Arundo armored scale). Both are established in the U.S. and have shown successful control outcomes in Texas. However, the key problem ERDC is trying to solve is the knowledge gap for southern California: despite releases and monitoring in northern California, there is not yet enough site-specific data to confidently guide widespread implementation in the south. Climate appears to matter, and the notice points to research suggesting biocontrol performance is linked to having enough “warming days.” A prior comparison suggested Ventura/Oxnard may have fewer warming days than successful Texas sites, while warmer parts of Los Angeles County may be more favorable. This opportunity is designed to produce the practical evidence needed to decide where and how these agents can work in southern California landscapes.

The project is structured as a five-year effort with a clear sequence of objectives and annual deliverables, aimed at producing defensible, operationally relevant metrics over time. In Year 1, the emphasis is on defining and measuring “control metrics” that matter for USACE operations and producing a baseline site characterization and dataset report. Year 2 moves into implementation: initiating biocontrol releases and establishment approaches while continuing data collection, with a deliverable focused on short-term population changes in both Arundo and the biocontrol agents as a function of the establishment strategy used. Year 3 continues releases and monitoring and produces an interim report describing mid-term population changes tied to the approaches tested. Year 4 continues the same core work but adds an explicit link to operations, requiring an interim report that covers mid-term population changes plus changes in operational impacts resulting from control (for example, effects on conveyance, vegetation density, or maintenance burdens, depending on the chosen metrics). Year 5 culminates in an evaluation of Arundo control relative to USACE operational needs, delivered as a final site characterization and report describing how site characteristics changed due to biological control.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity under a cooperative agreement mechanism, meaning ERDC expects active collaboration rather than a hands-off grant. The opportunity is listed under Funding Opportunity Number W81EWF 25 SOI 0004, with an award ceiling of $120,000 and an expectation of a single award. The original closing date is April 14, 2025. Eligibility is restricted: applicants must be non-federal partners within the California Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU), which is intended to streamline collaboration with qualified research and management organizations connected to that partnership network.

• The Engineer Research and Development Center in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research and Development for Biological Control of Arundo Donax" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.630.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-02-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-04-14. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $120,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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