What 160 Hours Can Accomplish

On yet another gorgeous day here in the Upper Valley region while many summer vacationers are soaking up the sun or taking a dip in one of the areas numerous swimming holes, a group of dedicated interns working for VINS, the US Army Corps of Engineers & the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park respectively spent the first day of August toiling on VINS' floodplain pulling invasive Japanese Barberry.

After root wrenching each barberry clump the entire shrub 

is hung in a nearby tree to ensure it dose not re-root itself.

What was the source of this self-induced torture? As part of a collective initiative to target the removal and control of invasive species along the Ottuaquechee River the recently formed Ottauquechee Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (OCISMA) has outlined a series of work days for these interns to partake in over the next three weeks. Last week was spent at King Farm with MBR National Historic Park targeting a large buckthorn invasion, this week targeted a ~1 acre barberry thicket on VINS property, and next week will test our wits against a large Eurasian Water Milfoil patch located in Dewey's Mill Pond under US Army Corps of Engineers management. In all, these work days will amount to over 160 man hours donated to the never-ending effort to control invasive species.


For more information about OCISMA please contact Mandy Vellia, OCISMA coordintaor, at ocisma@vinsweb.org

To pull or not to pull?

As part of my research project this summer at VINS I have been charged with investigating invasive species ecology – how these species interact with the ecosystem they have invaded, as well as management strategies to minimize their impacts through eradication.
Exotic invasive species are managed because of the threat they pose to native flora and fauna by physically displacing native species. However this is not the only way invasives do harm to local ecosystems.  Some exotics like the stump-sprouting Japanese Knotweed pictured above, have the ability to alter the actual physical and chemical composition of soil.  Doing so disrupts the hydrology, nutrient cycling, soil microbial and fungi populations which all exacerbates the problems posed by invasives.

As the above picture illustrates, managing invasive species is not always effective, in-fact, managing an invasive species population never really ends. Seed dispersal of a plethora of invasives, whether it be by wind, bird, animal or human is inevitable. So it seems the same question must be asked, “To pull or not to pull?” Concentrating management efforts to the most sensitive areas seems the most economical, but if invasives cannot be managed everywhere are our actions fruitless?  When exotic ornamental Japanese Barberry still holds a multi-million dollar market share in the horticulture business (Lehrer et al, 2006) it would seem our attitude towards acceptable landscaping practices needs to make a change before real progress towards managing invasive populations can take place.


Works cited:
Lehrer, J et al. (2006). Four Cultivars of Japanese Barberry Demonstrate Differential Reproductive Potential under Landscape Conditions. Journal of Horticultural Science. Vol. 41 Iss. 3 (pp762).