Presentation on invasive plant management presented at Kickapoo Valley Reserve

1. Managing Invasive Plants
Kickapoo Valley Reserve
June 11, 2011
John Exo, UW-Extension
John.exo@ces.uwex.edu

2. Outline
 History of invasive establishment
 Why species are invasive
 Strategies
 Some problem species

3. Early Vegetation
From John T. Curtis,
Vegetation of Wisconsin, 1959

4. Early Landscape
“Our waters filled with fish, and the air with
game birds, and the rock ledges with
rattlesnakes, and the woods with large
game…We have no Canada thistles or mean
men.”
Wm. H Canfield, 1842
Sauk County Surveyor

5. Invasive Beginnings
Wisconsin Historical Society

6. New People, New Pests
“Ever since the settlement of the country, there
has been a tendency for certain plants and
animals to get out of hand…Usually these
runaways have been foreigners (like the carp,
Norway rat…) but native species…are clearly
also capable of pest behavior.”
Aldo Leopold, 1945

7. Definitions
“Invasive” definitions differ depending on
the goal.
 “…causes economic harm to….”
 “interferes with land management goals…”
 “kills or displaces populations of native species…”

8. What makes a plant invasive?
 Tolerate wide range of soil, light, other
conditions
 Longer growing period
 Alter soil chemistry
 Prolific seed production
 Few or no natural controls

9. What do we do?
 Get educated: inventory, map, make a
plan
 Learn to ID and know plants’ biology
 Create a plan
 Learn & use control methods
 Monitor & adapt

10. Take inventory
 Aerial photo or scaled lot layout
 Plant I.D. books/websites
 Estimate species present & density
 I.D. land use – past, present & future
 Look beyond your property lines

12. Know thy enemy
 Learn to identify the plants
 Seedling
 Adult
 Dormancy
 Learn plants’ biology
 Annual
 Biennial
 Perennial

13. Know thy enemy
Annuals
 Live one growing season as a plant
 Survive through seed
 If they don’t produce seed, they can’t
reproduce

14. Annuals
Live one year, survive by seed
Giant, common ragweed
Foxtail grass

15. Know thy enemy
Biennials
 Live TWO growing seasons
 Survive through seed
 Produce a lot of seed

16. Biennials
Live two years, survive by seed
 Garlic mustard
 Wild parsnip
 Bull, musk, plumeless thistle
 Sweet clover
 Spotted knapweed

17. Biennials:
Garlic mustard
WI DNR photos

18. Biennials:
Wild Parsnip*
(a monocarpic perennial)

19. Wild parsnip burns!
• Phyto-Photo-Dermatitis:
• Juice-skin-sunlight
• Blister scars can last years.

20. Biennials: Bull thistle

21. Know thy enemy
Perennials
 Live many growing seasons
 Survive through stored energy
 Reproduce via seeds, suckers, roots
 Important to know if:
 Simple roots (honeysuckle)
 Creeping roots (Can. thistle)

22. Perennial: Canada thistle
•Primary reproduction: creeping
horizontal lateral roots
•dense clonal growth

23. Perennial: Multiflora Rose
(Rosa multiflora)

24. Multiflora Rose
Identifying
characteristic:
bristles at base of
petiole

25. Perennial: Common buckthorn

26. Unfair competition. . .

27. Perennials: Bush
Honeysuckles
(Lonicera spp.)
Habitat: upland, especially
under roost trees
Blooms: May to June,
produces orange or red
berries
Flowers are white, yellow,
orange, or pink
Early spring leaf-out, late fall
leaf drop

28. Perennials: Autumn olive
Habitat: dry upland
Blooms: May to June
Flowers are white and fragrant
Reproduces mostly by root suckering

29. Autumn olive

30. Problem Ornamental Species
 Japanese knotweed
 Japanese barberry
 buckthorns
 Asian honeysuckles
 Amur maple
 Common tansy
 Oriental, or Round-
leaved bittersweet

31. Some watch list species
 Japanese hedge
parsley
 Wild chervil
 Hill’s mustard
 Japanese knotweed
 Teasels

32. Prioritization
 Importance of habitat
 Size of population
 Rate of spread
 interfere with land use?
 Resources available

33. Management strategies
 Monitor year-round,
especially along
trails, roads
 Look beyond
property lines
 Prioritize species;
areas
 Timing is everything

34. Management methods
 Ounce of prevention…
 Pull
 Cut/Mow
 Girdle
 Cut stem
 Graze
 Prescribed fire
 Herbicide (foliar, basal bark)
 Integrated methods are most successful

35. Prevention
 Encourage competition
 Proactively establish competition

36. Pull !!!!
 Good for young
people, small
infestations, small
plants.

37. Mow/Cut
 Timing is critical—best when in flower.
 Repeated mowings likely needed
 Slows, but may not kill plants.
 Can be combined with herbicide methods.

38. Mowing/Cutting Equipment

39. Girdle
Good for clonal tree
species
 Labor intensive
 Very effective if done
correctly Photo courtesy of Tom Brock
 Timing: June best
 1 or 2 step method

40. Girdling – Step 1 Girdling – Step 2

41. Cut-Stem Treatment
 Good winter
Photo courtesy of Tom Brock
option
 Very targeted use
of herbicides
Photo: Savanna Oaks Foundation, Inc

42. Basic Woody Shrub
Cut-stem Control Method
Target:
 Small to medium invasive shrubs, e.g. buckthorn,
honeysuckle, Autumn olive, prickly ash, etc.
Herbicides:
 systemic herbicide such as glyphosate (Roundup
or generic) or Triclopyr (Garlon 4 or generic)

43. Basic Woody Shrub
Cut-stem Control Method
Timing:
 Summer, Fall or Winter are preferred.
 Avoid early spring and heavy snow periods.
 Above-freezing temps when using water-soluble
herbicides such as glyphosate.
 Apply water-soluble herbicides within minutes of
cutting.
 Triclopyr can be applied at any temp

44. Basic Woody Shrub
Cut-stem Control Method
Technique:
 Cut stems at no higher than 6”
 Work in pairs, if possible, to
avoid “escapes”
 Work in a pattern
 Treat only outer edge
Photo courtesy: Tom Brock

45. Grazing
 Timing
 Palatability
 Goats can be “trained” to
some species
Repeated treatments
necessary

46. Prescribed Fire
 Requires training
 Experience
 Specialized equipment
 Good Public relations
 Good neighbor relations Photo courtesy of Tom Brock
 Timing!
 Usually integrated with
other methods

47. Using Fire for Management
Requires:
 Special training
 Specialized equipment
 Good Public relations
 Good neighbor relations
 Experience
 Timing!
 Integrated with other methods

48. Foliar herbicide
 Safety first
 Timing is critical
 better for larger
infestations
 Good in combination with
mowing
 Selective vs non-selective
herbicides
 Pre- vs post-emergence
application

49. Basal bark herbicide
 Small; smooth bark
 Generally, single-stem
shrubs & trees
 Limited herbicide
choices
 Treat all clone stems
Photos courtesy of Tom Brock

50. Integrated Methods
 Most successful
control efforts involve
an integrated
approach that include
monitoring & early
detection.
Photo courtesy Tom Brock

51. Other Precautions
 Clean shoes to prevent seed spread
 Minimize soil disturbance
 Consider wildlife & water role in spread
 Monitor imported materials (gravel,
mulch, etc)

52. Develop a management plan
•Garlic mustard presence shown.
•Goal is to …
Road

53. Garlic mustard biology
 Biennial
 Seedling/rosette yr 1
 Flower, then die yr 2
 Spread by seed only
 Vehicles
 Shoes
 Animals
 Water

54. Develop a management plan
1. satellites: goal to eradicate
Combine methods to prevent
any seed production.
2. Patch along road: goal to
prevent spread.
Road Focus efforts on outer edges
and roadside

55. Example Plan
 Satellite populations:
 Pull 2nd year plants before flowering
 Spray in 1st year plants in fall or very
early spring

56. Example Plan
 Large patch along road/trail
 Mow, pull, spray along road before
seed set.
 Work perimeter inward
 Spray rosettes fall/early spring
 Pull escapes in between
 Repeat, monitor, re-map ? years.

57. Calling All Volunteers!
 Kickapoo Valley Woods Cooperative
 The Prairie Enthusiasts
 The Nature Conservancy
 Kickapoo Valley Reserve?

58. Other Resources
Membership, links, and
information
http://www.ipaw.org

60. Summary
 Invasives are already here
 Early detection & prevention are critical
 Introduction of new species mostly
dependent on our behavior
 Set realistic goals
 Make a plan, then adapt

61. Questions?