[APWG] [PCA] Native Phragmites Data

Thu Aug 30 07:02:03 CDT 2012

I show my volunteers how Poison ivy is dominant in eary succession habitats
after an unnatural disturbance but becomes a minor species in fully
recovered woodlands. The same for sweetgum.

Marc Imlay, PhD,
Conservation biologist, Park Ranger Office
(301) 442-5657 cell
 ialm at erols.com
Natural and Historical Resources Division
The  Maryland-National   Capital   Park  and Planning Commission
 <http://www.pgparks.com/> www.pgparks.com

  _____  

From: apwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org
[mailto:apwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] On Behalf Of
Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 10:25 AM
To: Robert Layton Beyfuss
Cc: native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org;
apwg at lists.plantconservation.org; Katy Cummings
Subject: Re: [APWG] [PCA] Native Phragmites Data

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>

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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 
 <mailto: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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