[MPWG] Japanese stiltgrass disease update June 2 2010

Sun Jun 6 15:38:38 CDT 2010

Hi Russ
I must admit that I agree with much of what you have replied to me. I also would like to preserve the relatively untouched ecosystems such as the rare ecological niche that parts of Appalachia still enjoy and I think we should make serious efforts to do so by preventing introductions whenever possible. Unfortunately I see invasion biology today as being more focused on battling invasive plant species using chemicals then examining the function of non native plants within ecosystems or attempting to understand not "how" but "why" they have occurred. The "how" is easy. Humans. The "why" is a lot more difficult.  Most of the forest land in the Northeast is 2nd or third growth and far different than its pre human ancestors and that includes native Americans who also manipulated the environment significantly. It has "evolved" primarily though and by human activities and it will never be as it was. It pains me to see agencies creating black and white lists of plants deemed acceptable, not by nature, but by bureaucrats who seem to think they know what "ought" to be allowed and are deluded into thinking that they can control evolution by regulations. I have no issue with weed science but I cringe at the thought that "weeds" are defined by their national origin and not their biological characteristics. Exotic species behave a lot like natives and in most cases one cannot tell them apart without being told their origin beforehand. The concept that ecosystems containing exotic plants have less diversity is incorrect. They have MORE species than ecosystems without exotic plants
I also see much hype about "degraded"  or "unhealthy" ecosystems. When people talk about "healthy" ecosystems they are talking about ecosystems that look like the way they want them to. These are value judgments designed to trigger emotional responses, not scientific appraisals. The movement of plant species around the world is part of an evolutionary process and not necessarily destructive.
The disease killing stiltgrass may also kill native species but so does widespread herbicide applications, such as I have seen conducted by the Nature Conservancy and other groups of "environmental" agencies. We can't always get what we want.
Bob

________________________________
From: ForestRuss at aol.com [ForestRuss at aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, June 06, 2010 1:05 PM
To: Robert Layton Beyfuss; MPWG at lists.plantconservation.org
Subject: Re: [MPWG] Japanese stiltgrass disease update June 2 2010

Bob:

Probably the most important thing to acknowledge is that where I live and work, the middle of the Appalachian Mesophytic forest, is a place of exceptionally diverse and vibrant vegetation.  Unlike New England where I grew up and spent the early part of my forestry career, this area has never experienced glaciation.

In my work around West Virginia I have ample opportunity to encounter vast areas with limited vegetative diversity on nearly all levels.  This limited diversity can be the result of multiple causes, including past land abuses such as: overgrazing, rapacious timber harvesting, extraction of minerals and fragmentation of the forest through coal, oil and natural gas recovery activities (which could equate to parcelization and subdivision in more urban states)

I agree that in many locations being concerned with invasive species is a lost cause with little hope for success.  Currently, hundreds of thousands of acres of West Virginia fall into this category.

However, in my own experience as a private forester, I have also had the opportunity to encounter exceptionally diverse and productive areas of  woodland absent of all damaging invasive species.

Being able to experience both conditions on a regular basis has convinced me of the benefit and value of containing or controlling the spread of invasive plant species into healthy woodland.

I am glad to see that Japanese stiltgrass has a disease killing it locally but there could also be additional problems to contend with as several species of native plants appear to show disease symptoms similar to those found on dying stiltgrass.

I think that it is a comforting idea to imagine that we have large areas of Federal land like National Forests and National Parks where invasive species may never be a problem and that examples of intact forest ecosystems of all types will always be healthy and readily accessible.

However, 100% of my work is on private property in an area with one of the smallest proportions of publicly owned land in the nation and very little modern information is known about this land or the unique diversity it contains.

Many private woodland owners that I work with, upon learning about the unique ecological diversity of their property, choose to undertake management practices and activities that will protect the diversity of what can rapidly evolve into an important part of their legacy.

Such a response has only served to strengthen my resolve at the justification of the expenses incurred along the way.  The beauty of invasive species management is in the beauty created by the absence of invasive species in an infected site.

As a point of reference.  Here at Crummies Creek nearly all invasive plant control measures are physical or mechanical.  Growing medicinal plants like Goldenseal, ginseng and black Cohosh generally makes the chemical alternative unattractive.

Russ Richardson

In a message dated 6/6/2010 8:57:52 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, rlb14 at cornell.edu writes:
Hi Russ
Nature has a way of restoring dynamic equilibrium to many ecosystems. How much money did you waste trying to eradicate this weed? How much money have others spent trying to do the same with other so called invasive plants that will eventually find thier niche too, How much environmental damage has been done by spraying herbicides needlessly?
Bob
________________________________
From: mpwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org [mpwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] On Behalf Of ForestRuss at aol.com [ForestRuss at aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2010 11:39 PM
To: MPWG at lists.plantconservation.org
Subject: [MPWG] Japanese stiltgrass disease update June 2 2010

MPWG:

The disease that was discovered to be killing Japanese stiltgrass, Microstegium vimineum, in Calhoun County, West Virginia during 2008 and 2009 has spread to new sites. The first signs of disease this year was in scattered locations starting about May 7.

In areas where the disease was active last fall there was limited germination of stiltgrass this spring and many plants that have developed in those areas now show disease signs.

[cid:X.MA1.1275843580 at aol.com]
Two years ago this road was completely dominated by stiltgrass that grew so tall and thick that all the water bars on the road were obscured.  This area was hit by the disease last fall as the seed was starting to set.  The dominant greenery in this photo is black Cohosh and white aster.  Nearly all stiltgrass present at the site is diseased.  Within 100 feet of this photo there is healthy stiltgrass that is almost 18" tall.

The following three photos were taken in an abandoned field area that had become a stiltgrass savannah.  The site has  scattered apple trees and deer had helped to spread the stiltgrass across the hillside.  This savannah covers more than fifteen acres and showed no signs of disease in 2009.

[cid:X.MA2.1275843580 at aol.com]
The trail in the foreground has a heavy cover of sickly stiltgrass.  For several hundred feet of this trail nearly 100% of the stiltgrass plants are covered with lesions.
[cid:X.MA3.1275843580 at aol.com]

In some areas the thatch from last year is still easy to find because there is very little new growth for 2010.
[cid:X.MA4.1275843580 at aol.com]
There are areas with no living stiltgrass plants and the natives are taking off.

[cid:X.MA5.1275843580 at aol.com]
It appears that the fungus killing stiltgrass can survive a forest fire.  In early April a forest fire
burned over 20 acres of Crummies Creek including areas where I had photographed the disease last year.  Some Japanese stiltgrass seed survived the fire and germinated in early May but now nearly all plants are showing disease signs.

At this time no one has determined the vectors for spread of the disease but a paper on some of the specifics of the "Bipolaris" disease has recently been published by Luke Flory of Indiana University.

Sincerely,

Russ Richardson, Certified Forester
Crummies Creek Tree Farm
PO Box 207
Arnoldsburg, WV 25234

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/mpwg_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20100606/a519b7da/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 100_3729.JPG
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 80178 bytes
Desc: 100_3729.JPG
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/mpwg_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20100606/a519b7da/attachment.jpe>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 100_3809.JPG
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 86322 bytes
Desc: 100_3809.JPG
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/mpwg_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20100606/a519b7da/attachment-0001.jpe>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Stiltgrass%20closeup%2006%2002%2010.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 71587 bytes
Desc: Stiltgrass%20closeup%2006%2002%2010.jpg
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/mpwg_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20100606/a519b7da/attachment.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 100_3815.JPG
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 90938 bytes
Desc: 100_3815.JPG
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/mpwg_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20100606/a519b7da/attachment-0002.jpe>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 100_3790.JPG
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 50768 bytes
Desc: 100_3790.JPG
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/mpwg_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20100606/a519b7da/attachment-0003.jpe>