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Submodule 3: Invasive Plants
Weeds and Riparian Areas
Riparian areas can be particularly susceptible to invasive plant infestations. These areas have a ready supply of water, and they also tend to be areas that are regularly visited by grazing animals and wildlife. This use by animals disturbs the land by displacing native plant species and, along with a usually steady supply of water, can create an opportunity for non-native plants to gain a foothold.
A few especially detrimental riparian weeds in the US include:
- Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense) – an invasive plant that is particularly damaging to moist habitats in the eastern US. The seeds are very desirable to birds, which spread the seeds long distances. This plant was introduced to the US as an ornamental.
- Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica) – this invasive plant reproduces by seeds and by rhizomes, or underground stems. Knotweed is easily propagated by small fragments of rhizomes flowing down streams and taking hold creating additional infestations. The plant grows well in many different types of soils and was introduced to the US as an ornamental.
- Salt Cedar (Tamarisk spp.) – this plant was introduced to the US as an ornamental and as a wind break in the mid 1800s. It has devastated many riparian habitats in the western US for two major reason: salt cedar uses a tremendous amount of water drying up the stream so natives have no source of moisture, and it collects salt in its leaves and deposits it is surrounding soil making it impossible for natives to grow.
Tamarisk (photo courtesy USDA)
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