Stewardship and Ecological Threats: Mixed Oak / Heath Forest (Low-Elevation) in Rock Creek Park
The composition or abundance of the characteristic plant and animal species in a natural community can be altered by various ecological threats. For most threats, there are stewardship strategies. For stewardship information specific to this natural community, scroll to the bottom of the page. You can also help, either in your own backyard or in a nearby park.
Ecobit: Stewardship at Home and While Visiting Rock Creek Park.
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Deer-browsed hillside blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum) is only a few inches tall. It's growing under a fire-sensitive tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera) that wouldn't be in the dry Mixed Oak / Heath Forest except for the lack of fire here for the past hundred years or more.
Photographer: Sam Sheline, courtesy of NatureServe
Current and potential ecological threats for the Mixed Oak / Health Forest in Rock Creek Park include the following:
- Excessive deer browse: decimation of shrubs and oak seedlings
- Lack of fire: encroachment by fire-sensitive species such as tuliptree; disease
- Gypsy moth: damage to oaks
- Dogwood anthracnose: decline of flowering dogwood
- Foot and horse traffic: erosion due to sparse field layer and thin duff (Exception: where shrubs add a protective layer.)
- Non-native invasive plants: competition with natives for soil nutrients, sunlight, and pollinators; degradation of animal habitat
Non-Native Invasive Plants
Hardy invasive non-native plants can get a foothold in this community. (* indicates non-native)
- garlic mustard* (low plant)
- Japanese barberry* (shrub)
- Japanese honeysuckle* (vine)
- Japanese stiltgrass* (low plant)
- multiflora rose* (shrub)
- oriental bittersweet* (vine)
- wine raspberry* (shrub)
Stewardship
- Excessive deer browse: deer management plan in place since 2012 using lethal and non-lethal means1
- Gypsy moth: bacterial and viral insecticides, naturalized fungus, release of parasitic wasps
- Potential arrival of diseases and invasive insects: Vigilance of Park staff and visitors
Ecobit: An Extra Set of Eyes
