Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Invasives continue to be a problem

   If we knew and understood where many of the invasives originate from, there is a good chance we could put a stop to them.
   Several years back, purple loosestrife was a big topic. A pretty plant that was no doubt uprooted, transported, then re-planted throughout the country took something that was nice to look at and made it a nuisance.
   Purple loosestrife doesn't need much encouragement. Like rabbits breed, this plant, once it begins growing, spreads out rapidly, choking out other, domestic plant life and even causing wet areas to dry up.
   I saw some the other day while looking of another threat, phragmites. Phragmites look similar to grain growing in a field but are found not in plowed ground but swampy areas. Like loosestrife, they threaten to take over wetland habitat.
   Some of the workdays sponsored by the DNR here in southeast Michigan are designed for volunteers to get in and pull many of these invasive plants out, thereby helping to restore an already precious nature balance.

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