[APWG] [PCA] Native Phragmites Data

Tue Aug 28 12:57:13 CDT 2012

I would throw in a couple more cents here...

To Bob:

"An invasive species is a non-native species whose introduction does or is
likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human, animal, or
plant health." - National Invasive Species Council

"Invasive Plant: A plant that is both non-native and able to establish on
many sites, grow quickly, and spread to the point of disrupting plant
communities or ecosystems. Note: From the Presidential Executive Order
13112 (February 1999): 'An invasive species is defined as a species that is
1) non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and 2) whose
introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or
harm to human health.' In contrast to item 2) of the Executive Order, which
includes plants invasive in agricultural settings, the Connecticut Invasive
Plant Working Group lists non-native plants as invasive only if they invade
minimally managed (natural) areas." - Natural Resource Conservation Service

I would just be careful (depending on what circles you are speaking in) in
saying that a native plant can be 'invasive', as officially I think
'invasive species' are defined as non-natives. It is just semantics, but I
might argue that native plants can be 'weedy' or 'aggressive', but not
technically 'invasive'.

To Katy - How are you addressing the potential native-invasive Phragmites
hybrid issue? I would be interested in hearing more about your project -
sounds interesting!

Julie

Julie Knudson
Tamarisk Coalition
970-256-7400

On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 8:25 AM, <Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov> wrote:

>
> Cheers, Bob!
>
> My two cents:
>
>    - A native can most definitely be an invasive.  Teal and Mark's
>    comments elucidate that issue well.
>    - I'm not sure what list you might be referring to, but from what I
>    understand of the Federal Noxious Weed list, I believe that plants that are
>    either naturalized or have completely overrun the US will not end up on
>    that list. I believe that list tends to include species that are in the
>    earlier stages of invasion where prevention of further influxes can still
>    make a difference for slowing the spread. I also doubt it would be on any
>    state list - those often tend to be geared to non-natives and ornamental
>    plants - of which poison ivy is neither.
>
>
> It seems like poison ivy falls into a strange no-man's land - as a native,
> it doesn't seem to fit on the PCA ALien Plant WOrking Group listserve - yet
> the expertise on that list may be more appropriate (versus this general
> native plant listserve) because they are the folks with specific insight on
> invasive species biology.
>
> I wonder if any of the National Park Service Exotic Plant Management Teams
> have identified it as among their top ten target taxa in any of their
> regions?
>
> -Patricia
>
> Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.
> Botanist, Division of Scientific Authority-US Fish & Wildlife
> Service-International Affairs
> Chair, Medicinal Plant Working Group-Plant Conservation Alliance
> 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 110
> Arlington, VA  22203
> 703-358-1708 x1753
> FAX: 703-358-2276
>
> Promoting sustainable use and conservation of our native medicinal plants.
> <www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal>
>
> Follow International Affairs
> > on Twitter  http://twitter.com/USFWSInternatl
> > on Facebook   <http://twitter.com/USFWSInternatl>
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>
>
>  *Robert Layton Beyfuss <rlb14 at cornell.edu>*
> Sent by: native-plants-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org
>
> 08/27/2012 09:45 AM
>   To
> Katy Cummings <katy.e.cummings at gmail.com>, "
> native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org" <
> native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org>
> cc
>   Subject
> Re: [PCA] Native Phragmites Data
>
>
>
>
> Hi All
> I am a bit confused and hope you can enlighten me. I thought that the
> basic definition of an invasive plant was that it had to be exotic.  There
> are many native plants that create almost solid monocultures such as common
> goldenrod yet can it be “undesirable” at any density? . Poison ivy can
> overrun entire areas but I have never seen it listed as invasive.
> Bob
>
> *From:* native-plants-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org [mailto:
> native-plants-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] *On Behalf Of *Katy
> Cummings*
> Sent:* Monday, August 20, 2012 9:28 PM*
> To:* native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org*
> Subject:* [PCA] Native Phragmites Data
>
> Fellow Conservationists-
>
> I work for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Door County, WI.  My main
> project this summer has been mapping exotic and native stands of Phragmites
> (*Phragmites australis* and *Phragmites australis americanus*) throughout
> TNC properties in Door County.  I have some questions and experiences to
> share with you as our organization tries to learn more about the
> native/exotic Phragmites issue.
>
> We all know what havoc the exotic Phragmites subspecies can wreak on an
> ecosystem, but do we know anything about the native subspecies?   *Is
> there any research out there showing that the native Phragmites can behave
> as aggressively as the exotic?  *In Door County, the native usually grows
> in scattered to moderate densities along with other wetland plants, with a
> few patches showing denser concentrations.  There are a few areas where the
> native has reached undesirable “dense” concentrations, but as of yet we
> don’t know why.
>
> *What other plants are associated with the native Phragmites?*  TNC will
> be setting up monitoring plots soon on some of our native patches, and when
> we get that data I’ll send it to any interested people from this list.  The
> only list I’ve been able to find is from a chapter by Laura Meyerson et al.
> in “Invasions in North American Salt Marshes” entitled “Phragmites
> australis in Eastern North America: A Historical and Ecological
> Perspective”.  Does anyone know of other lists from different regions of
> the U.S.?
>
> *Are there any patterns to where native Phragmites is found?  *During my
> mapping of the plant in Door County, I’ve generally found native Phragmites
> set back from the edge of waterways and growing in more marshy areas.
>
> *What have you all seen as far as size of patches, number of patches,
> location, rate of spread, etc. of the native Phragmites in your area?  *Most
> of the wetlands in Door County are fed by alkaline ground water discharge
> as a result of movement through the underlying dolomitic bedrock.  I assume
> that because of these alkaline conditions we have a higher population of
> native Phragmites than perhaps other regions of the Midwest.  Is this true?
>
>
> To help answer these questions, The Nature Conservancy’s Door Peninsula
> office has temporarily halted eradication measures of native lineages of *
> Phragmites*.  We are in the process of developing long-term monitoring
> plots in native *Phragmites *stands throughout Nature Conservancy
> holdings in Door County, WI.  The goals of this monitoring project will be
> to assess the following questions:
>
> *1.**      *Under what conditions do native stands become aggressive?
>
> *2.**      *At what threshold is a native stand damaging to the
> community?
>
> *3.**      *What plants are commonly associated with native *Phragmites *in
> the Great Lakes region?
> If you are interested, I can send you a more detailed methodology for our
> monitoring project, including what parameters we will be sampling.
>
> As an additional note, I’d encourage people to mention there is a native
> variety of Phragmites and differentiate between the two strains in any
> publications or documents.
>
> I look forward to your input!
>
>
> Thanks again,
> Katy Cummings
> *katy.e.cummings at gmail.com* <katy.e.cummings at gmail.com>
>
>
> --
> Katherine E. Cummings
> Door Peninsula Conservation Intern
> The Nature Conservancy
> Sturgeon Bay, WI_______________________________________________
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