Fighting Invasives in Ohio's Special Places
Preserves in Lake Erie watershed challenged by non-native plants
Erie Sand Barrens | Headlands Dunes | Irwin Prairie | North Pond | Sheldon Marsh
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| Headlands Dunes |
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| Herbicide Treatment |
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| Sheldon Marsh |
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| Irwin Prairie |
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| Buckthorn |
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| Garlic Mustard |
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| North Pond |
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| Purple Loosestrife |
Non-native invasive plants are one of the biggest threats to Ohio's native plant communities. Nearly 100 of these non-native plants are invasive in Ohio's natural areas, including along the coastal landscape of Lake Erie.
Invasive plants:
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displace or crowd native plant species
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impact wildlife which rely on native plant communities for food, shelter and breeding habitat
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form monoculture plant communities which reduces biological diversity
Protecting biodiversity
Recognizing the importance of protecting and restoring natural habitats, the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves is fighting the challenges of non-native invasive plant communities in Ohio's special places. ODNR's Office of Coastal Management has provided critical funding to assist in combating the challenges of invasive plants in the Lake Erie watershed.
A rich variety of plant and animals species are key components of a biologically diverse environment. Natural Areas and Preserves staff use a variety of eco-management techniques to control invasive plant species in Ohio's state nature preserves.
Management techniques include:
Taking a closer look at invasive plant communities
State nature preserves located along Lake Erie's coast and within its watershed provide a glimpse into the ongoing challenges faced by land managers across the United States.
Wetlands provide unique challenges for management because of the variables including: dense vegetation, standing water and the tremendous numbers of fish, reptiles, amphibians and other wildlife dwelling in our wetlands.
Headlands Dunes
Harboring plants usually found along the Atlantic coast, Headlands Dunes protects an isolated extensive sand dune shoreline along Lake Erie.
Atlantic Coastal Plain species, such as beach grass, sea rocket, seaside spurge, purple sand grass and beach pea, persist on the preserve's sand dunes. But look closer and you'll spot invasives, such as sweet clover, crown vetch and purple loosestrife, growing in this special place.
The division is focusing its efforts on maintaining or expanding the beach dune community by hand pulling invasive plants and applying wetland-approved herbicides.
Erie Sand Barrens
After seeing its landscape of prairie grasses and stunted oak and hickory trees, early settlers deemed Erie Sand Barrens unfit for farming. Today, this special place is a link to Ohio's glacial past because it harbors an interesting mix of rare plants along the top and bottom of its sandy ridges.
Rare plants, such as Virginia meadow beauty and twisted yellow-eyed grass, thrive in the wet depressions of the barrens. Other unique plants, like partridge-pea and prairie milkweed, grow along the higher ridges and knolls of the preserve.
Erie Sand Barrens is managed to perpetuate its unique sand barren plant community, as seen in pre-settlement days. This requires the removal of plants which are native, but also invasive. Although native plants are not usually considered invasive, the black locust and aspen populations at Erie Sand Barrens threaten the rare plant community. The division manages the site to ensure that such areas remain open. Removal of these woody species is done both mechanically and by controlled prescribed burning.
Sheldon Marsh
Few areas in northern Ohio can match Sheldon Marsh in habitat diversity. Located adjacent to one of the last undeveloped stretches of shoreline in the Sandusky Bay region, the preserve protects important coastal habitats.
Preserving and managing habitat is key to the survival of native plant and animal communities at Sheldon Marsh. The preserve is known to attract nearly 300 bird species including numerous shorebirds attracted to the shallow waters and mudflats of the wetlands behind the barrier beach.
The division faces a variety of invasive plants throughout the preserve. Phragmites and purple loosestrife can be found along the preserve's wetland habitats, while garlic mustard and bush honeysuckles are gaining a foothold in the site's wooded areas. The division's invasive management activities throughout the preserve will help maintain native diversity in the coastal wetland and protect the outstanding spring wildflower display within the coastal woodland.
Ohio's Lake Erie islands draw thousands of visitors to the natural features and recreational opportunities found there. Two state nature preserves found on Kelleys Island, a short ferry trip from Marblehead, protect remnants of the island's natural past.
North Pond
As one of the last natural marshes in Ohio's western Lake Erie basin, North Pond protects an excellent example of emergent and submergent aquatic plant communities. The 36-acre preserve is home to many rare plants and animals including Wapato, also known as pond arrowhead. Along the beach, purple sandgrass and seaside spurge can be found.
Purple loosestrife, Phragmites and flowering rush are examples of the invasive plants found at North Pond. Stands of Phragmites can be seen from the preserve's observation deck, instead of the open waters and native vegetation that should be dominating the area. The division uses wetland-approved herbicides to control the encroaching invasive species.
Irwin Prairie
Prairies might not come to mind when you think about coastal preserves, but Irwin Prairies' wet meadow habitat is located within Lake Erie's watershed. The rare Oak Openings plant community found at Irwin Prairie is threatened by dense stands of glossy buckthorn, an invasive woody shrubs.
Maintaining the wet sedge meadow found at Irwin Prairie demands aggressive invasive management activities, including herbicide application, mowing and controlled burns.
You can help!
What may look like a pretty flowering bush or brightly colored wildflower may in reality be a destructive plant in a natural areas setting. By eliminating invasive species in your own backyard and by using native or non-invasive plants instead, you too will be promoting biodiversity.
Together, we can protect and preserve the best of Ohio's Lake Erie coastal habitats. |