“The earlier we find invasive species, the better the chance to control them,” says Avraham Eitam, a pest survey specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. APHIS is one of the natural resource-related groups sponsoring the observance of National Invasive Species Awareness Week, March 3-8, in Ohio. Also among them is CFAES’s outreach arm, OSU Extension. Read the story.
invasive species
Aliens among us
The Convention on Biological Diversity calls invasive species the second biggest threat to the world’s biodiversity after habitat loss. Next week, March 3-8, is National Invasive Species Awareness Week. (Photo: Emerald ash borer by James E. Zablotny via USDA APHIS). More to come …
Restoring the Olentangy’s plant life: Keep out invaders
The removal of the Fifth Avenue dam on the Olentangy River is great for aquatic ecosystems and will increase central Ohio’s plant and animal biodiversity. The river’s banks will be heavily disturbed and will offer new, fresh territory for plants to propagate and succeed. Wind, water, and even birds will contribute to the spread of seeds. Native vegetation, however, can’t become established when outcompeted by invasive non-native plants, some of which may include bush honeysuckle, narrow-leaved cattail, and common reed, or phragmites, which is pictured.
Our plant-related recommendations for the river’s restoration:
• Use native plants in the landscaping.
• Lobby legislators concerning quarantine areas and invasive species legislation
• Read. Field guides and other books (such as this one by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden) show invasive plants to guard against and native plants to consider growing.
• Volunteer — with groups such as the Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW).
• Sign up for a central Ohio newsletter or email list related to gardening, landscaping, invasive species, and/or the river. FLOW, for instance, has a newsletter (pdf).
Invasive plants’ seeds can travel fast and far on hiking boots, running shoes, garden equipment, bike tires, kayaks, canoes, and boats. So clean your equipment before travelling to new areas.
Invasive plant colonization usually involves an initial population quickly seeding then plateauing in numbers of the population.
Ohio State’s Department of Horticulture and Crop Science will be offering a course introducing such topics as controlling, identifying, and monitoring invasive plant species along the Olentangy corridor. It will be an exciting course involving lots of time on task along the river.
Tomorrow: What will climate change mean to invasive species in Lake Erie?
Ohio State’s next Climate Change webinar is tomorrow (1/17). Speaking will be the University of Wisconsin’s Galen McKinley on “Climate and Carbon Impacts on Productivity, Chemistry, and Invasive Species in the Great Lakes.” It’s part of an ongoing series by Ohio State’s Climate Change Outreach Team, whose members include scientists with CFAES.
Video: Ohio without any buckeyes? Not on their watch
Trees in Ohio face a growing number of pests from overseas. And from them growing damage. But the state’s oaks, maples, and, yes, even buckeyes have a CFAES team on their side (video, 1:08). Invasive species are a threat to sustainability — of farms, forests, yards, gardens, businesses, and biodiversity.
2 plants you DON’T want to see by the Olentangy … and why we need a plan to control them (and others)
Ohio State began restoration efforts of the Olentangy River corridor in August 2012 with the removal of the Fifth Avenue dam. At that point, the university decided to take the opportunity to re-examine how the river is viewed.
In the past, the river has been seen as a dividing force separating the university’s east and west campuses. But under the new One Ohio State Framework plan, the river corridor serves instead as the center of the university — a uniter, in the famous words of George W. Bush, not a divider.
One goal of the restoration project is to establish a functional riparian forest buffer comprised of native species in this urban area. Water quality, wildlife habitat, and aesthetics will all be improved from the successful establishment of the proposed plantings.
However, two non-native species, bush honeysuckle (pictured) and ailanthus, or tree-of-heaven, pose a serious threat to the survival of the new plantings. These invasive species exhibit several characteristics that help them suppress native plant growth.
Invasive species would hurt replanted natives
Ohio State currently has no plan to manage invasive species in the newly restored corridor. This lack of planning has the potential to render the restoration unsuccessful.
It is our hope that Ohio State develops a thorough invasive species management plan to ensure the successful restoration of the Olentangy River corridor.
(Update: A Nov. 14 Dayton Daily News story on invasive honeysuckle and how to control it.)
(Details on the ENR 4567 course are here.)
Nuts, timber at risk? New pest ‘threatens the sustainability of walnut trees’
If you’re a reporter or blogger who writes about the environment or gardening, here’s a list of experts from our college who can speak on deadly Thousand Cankers Disease (TCD) in walnut trees.
Two state agencies on Monday (12/10) announced the first discovery in Ohio of the walnut twig beetle. The insect carries the fungus that causes TCD. But the disease itself hasn’t been found at this time.
New app lets you report invasive species
Calling all citizen scientists: A new phone app from OSU Extension lets you discover and report invasive species, whether of farm, forest, or water. The Great Lakes states are the focus.
Invasive species, such as the alienishly slimy Asian carp shown here, threaten the sustainability of native ecosystems.
What a state looks like on kudzu (OK, under it)
Anne Dorrance, a plant pathologist with OARDC and OSU Extension, talks about kudzu in Ohio: Where it’s at, what can be done, what it may mean to farmers. (It may or may not host a serious soybean disease.) The creeping, invasive, non-native vine is a long-time scourge in the South. But it’s in 22 of Ohio’s 88 counties now too. (The shot at the left is from Mississippi.)
Meet this beetle, but not, one hopes, in person
There’s a new pest of trees in Ohio. It came from Asia and is deadly, like the infamous emerald ash borer. But it may be easier (though not easy) to control. Which is good. But it kills a lot more than just ashes. Which is bad. (Though losing one’s ashes is bad enough.) Here’s a good chance to learn more.