Posted on: June 28th, 2019

 

Invasive Weeds

With all this recent wet weather, everything plant is growing like crazy. This is a good time to weed whack or pull up any invasive plants on your land.

What’s wrong with invasive plants? They’re just plants.

Yes, and some are edible and medicinal, too! The problem with invasive plants is they tend to create a monoculture on the land and can wreak havoc on the native ecosystem. They don’t have the insect or disease checks and balances here they had in their place of origin.

What’s wrong with them creating monocultures? Everything’s changing, plants have traveled around throughout human history, and in a changing climate nothing’s gonna stay the same.

True. Consider this: native ecosystems evolved over thousands of years, likely much longer, and have evolved intricate relationships that keep them strong, stable, resilient, and provide all the ecosystem services that humans need to live.

In other words, native ecosystems are biodiverse. Biodiversity is the opposite of monoculture. Monocultures simplify the ecosystem and make health and stability much less likely.     

The recent report from the UN Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)lists invasive species as one of the top threats on the planet to biodiversity and thus ecosystem services. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/   The state of Colorado and Boulder County mandate managing invasive species where we live.

Which ones are in Gold Hill?

For starters: leafy spurge, cheatgrass (which is a fire hazard when it dries out, if not managed), ox-eye daisy, Canada thistle, mullein, spotted knapweed, whitetop, and others. Click here for photos and more info on the best way to manage the ones you’ve got:  https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/agconservation/noxious-weed-species

We’ll have some examples of invasive plants at the next town meeting and examples of non-toxic ways to manage them.