[APWG] Interaction of non-native invasive plant removal and deer control
Marc Imlay
ialm at erols.com
Mon Nov 13 16:33:59 CST 2006
For the annual conference of the Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council at
Philadelphia, PA, next summer in 2007 I am assisting in a presentation
on the interaction of non-native invasive plant removal and deer control.
With
the extirpation of the cougar and wolf predators at most sites and limited
predation by coyotes, it is essential to have managed hunts to reduce deer
to
10-20 per square mile. I am soliciting research findings specifically for
areas
where invasive plants are being removed and deer are not being controlled.
It
has been suggested by deer managers that certain species of non-native
invasive
plants, such as Japanese honeysuckle that deer eat, and other non-native
invasive
plants that deer avoid such as Japanese Stiltgrass, should only be partially
controlled so the deer can not find, or so that the deer avoid the native
plants.
Are there any actual research findings available on the effect on native
plants
of partial control of specific species of invasive plants, as opposed to no
control or complete control in areas where deer densities are documented to
be, say, 30 per square mile or greater? Deer density is often measured in
various ways such as by noting the presence or absence of greenbrier leaves
at the browse level as well as by aerial photography. Is there a threshold
level of deer density below which invasive plant managers do not have to
be concerned with deer issues? Cheers
Marc Imlay, PhD
Conservation biologist, Anacostia Watershed Society
(301-699-6204, 301-283-0808 301-442-5657 cell)
Board member of the Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council,
Hui o Laka at Kokee State Park, Hawaii
Vice president of the Maryland Native Plant Society,
Chair of the Biodiversity and Habitat Stewardship Committee
for the Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club
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