Everyone should learn plant identification
Last fall, I decided to challenge myself by enrolling in the notoriously difficult course ENVIRON 436, also known as Woody Plants. This class focuses on one thing — the identification of Michigan’s woody plants. From Quercus macrocarpa (Bur Oak) to Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia Creeper), the course covered some of Michigan’s most ecologically significant species and some with the most absurd Latin names. The course entranced me: I couldn’t stop going on walks to Nichols Arboretum and trying to identify every plant in sight. But, it also brutally put into perspective just how disrupted Michigan’s ecology is — and how important it is that we teach plant identification. If plant identification of invasive species became common knowledge, more collective action would be stimulated to help solve this looming threat of environmental degradation.
It wasn’t until November, after the majority of Michigan’s native plants had lost their leaves, that this knowledge began to feel like a burden. This is a common feeling within environmental science or ecology courses, but this course hit harder because of the visible harm I saw around me. Everywhere I looked, I saw dormant trees, yet tons of shrubs remained green. Upon closer inspection, I found that all these shrubs were invasive species of various honeysuckles and buckthorns. There are countless invasive species in Michigan, herbaceous and woody, but these specific shrubs can expand especially quickly and are highly disruptive to ecosystems.
I can’t explain the entire field of ecology within this piece, but there are a couple of necessary things to know about invasive species. Invasive species are foreign species that can naturalize, or reproduce independently from human propagation, in a given environment. This is especially heart-wrenching when you consider that human activities have introduced these invasive species into their current environments.
The most absurd thing about invasive species is that they are quite literally everywhere. A study conducted in the Chicago metropolitan area found that common buckthorn was detected within 100% of the natural areas tested. Additionally, when measured within urban areas, only 1 out of 80 blocks did not contain any invasive species.
The core principle of an invasive species is that it has not gone through millennia of coevolution with the flora, fauna and microbial community of its established region. Invasive species are only able to establish themselves due to similar climatic conditions between their native region and their established region. They have a very diverse variety of effects on their environment, but common buckthorn, in particular, has an extreme allelopathic effect that directly halts the growth of other species.
Because of urban development our natural areas are often small and fragmented. Management of natural areas requires the perpetual removal of invasive species. This can be achieved temporarily by management teams and sometimes volunteer groups, but when there are swaths of invasive species growing across the street from these natural areas, the problem can become unmanageable. This proximity and abundance in suburban areas allows species to establish themselves in natural areas through seed dispersal or clonal sprouting.
So the question arises, what is being done to stop invasive species, especially buckthorns? While research exists on biological controls for buckthorns, the current primary remedy is physical removal. Yes, just like pulling weeds in Grandma’s garden — except these weeds are made out of wood and can grow up to 25 feet tall. As a staff member at Matthaei Botanical Gardens and a member of the Ecological Restoration club, I spent countless hours pulling buckthorn. It is hard work that, while fulfilling, feels like a drop in the bucket with the sheer volume of shrubs.
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