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Invasive Species Management
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Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii)
in fruit. Photo by Michele Banker
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Invasive species may be one
of the most under-emphasized environmental challenges we face, and pose major
challenges to land managers. Invasive species evolved in one geographic area
but have become established and competitive in another geographic area through
human intervention. About one quarter of Ohio’s 3,000 plants did not evolve
here; some were imported for food, medicine, aesthetics or fiber, and some were
unintentional hitch-hikers along trade routes. Many imported species fail to
survive in their new habitat, a few persist but are kept in check by local
conditions, and some become aggressive competitors, taking a serious toll on the
local ecosystem. Of the latter category, 65 are found in Ohio. Nationwide,
non-native species costs the US some $125 billion annually.
Invasive species can
decrease the biodiversity of native ecosystems, decrease crop yields, reduce
water quality and threaten wildlife habitat. Invasive species tend to reproduce
quickly and lack significant predators, and are difficult to manage without
additional damage.
A significant problem
species at Mount St. John is Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii). It was
brought to the US as an ornamental in 1896, and was first planted in southwest
Ohio in the 1960s. Today, given the plant’s prolific seeds, its popularity as
an ornamental and the high-light conditions of Ohio’s second-growth woodlands,
it is abundant and threatens to alter the future structure and composition of
woodlands. Our control methods include a 1% fall foliar application of
glyphosate, and treating recently-cut stumps with a 20% glyphosate solution.
MEEC Publications
In the
Resource Center
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Life out of Bounds,
by Chris Bright. Published in 1998 by the Worldwatch Institute.
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Invasive Species in
a Changing World, edited by
Harold A. Mooney & Richard J. Hobbs. Published in 2000 by Island Press.
Learn More
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