Invasive Species: The Unwelcome Plant Guests
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Some of the plants living in parks and natural areas have worn out their welcome.
Credits
Created by Abby Cox, Explore Natural Communities Intern Summer 2015, NatureServe.
Special thanks to Ana Chuquín of the Division of Resource Management, Rock Creek Park, National Park Service.
Music: Savannah Sketch, by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0
Photo: English ivy in Melvin Hazen Valley, by Gary Fleming. Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0
Transcript
Podcast time: 1:48 minutes
Voice 1:
Unwelcome plant guests are found all over Rock Creek Park. Some arrived from around the world, while others came from across the United States. You may have seen them crawling down the side of a hill, silently climbing or winding their way up a tree, or blooming in dense patches. Maybe you thought the vine or flowers were beautiful and unique. These trespassing plants are known as non-native invasive species.
A non-native invasive plant grows out of control when it reproduces rapidly, or has fast-growing or aggressive roots or stems / vines. A lack of natural controls, such as disease or herbivores in its new home, also contributes to an invasive species’ spread.
They act like an invading army, taking over the habitat and outcompeting the native plants for resources. The invader may block out the sunlight, use up the minerals and nutrients in the soil, or guzzle all the available water.
Ana Chuquín, Biological Science Technician at the Division of Resource Management in Rock Creek Park explains how invasive species could have gotten into the park in a number of ways…..
Ana Chuquín:
"They are introduced by different means: such as Humans introduce them for erosion control or for gardening purposes. Or maybe they are introduced by birds or just introduced by the environment itself."
Voice 1:
The “environment itself” can bring in invasive plants when wind or floods carry the seeds or plants into the park.
Regardless of how they arrived, the park now has to protect its natural communities by fighting against this invading army of non-native invasive plant species. Check out the park's website to find out how to help stop the invaders by preventing their spread and reporting new infestations. (Become a NPS volunteer! and Make a difference!)