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University of Massachusetts AmherstScholarWorks@UMass Amherst
Environmental Conservation Educational Materials Environmental Conservation
2018
Regional Invasive Species & Climate ChangeManagement Challenge: Why Native? Benefits ofplanting native species in a changing climateEmily J. FuscoUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst
Jenica M. AllenUniversity of New Hampshire
Evelyn M. BeauryUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst
Michelle R. JacksonUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst
Brittany B. LaginhasUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst
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Fusco, Emily J.; Allen, Jenica M.; Beaury, Evelyn M.; Jackson, Michelle R.; Laginhas, Brittany B.; Morelli, Toni Lyn; and Bradley,Bethany A., "Regional Invasive Species & Climate Change Management Challenge: Why Native? Benefits of planting native species ina changing climate" (2018). Environmental Conservation Educational Materials. 3.https://doi.org/10.7275/2248-hc42
AuthorsEmily J. Fusco, Jenica M. Allen, Evelyn M. Beaury, Michelle R. Jackson, Brittany B. Laginhas, Toni LynMorelli, and Bethany A. Bradley
This article is available at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/eco_ed_materials/3
Why Native?Benefits of planting native species in a changing climate
Yards host a variety of native and non-native plants. It is easy to assume all plants play a similar role in supporting wild-life, but native plants dramatically increase the diversity of bees, butterflies, birds and other native animals. Additionally, non-native plants can become invasive or support invasive pests. Native plants increase biodiversity and reduce risks associated with invasive species, which supports resilient ecosystems in the face of climate change.
Summary
Native plants support native wildlifeLandscaping with native plants offers a unique opportunity to promote healthy, resilient ecosystems. Native plants support a diverse food web due to a long history of interacting and evolving with other native wildlife. Most native insects evolved to be specialists on native plants. An example specialist is the monarch butterfly caterpillar, which only eats milkweed. Native plants support a more complex food web of both specialist and generalist insects, resulting in a higher diversity and abundance of native birds, butterflies, and pollinators (Figure 1).
Definitions
Native landscaping: Predominantly plants indigenous to the region
Traditional landscaping: Predomi-nantly non-native, ornamental plants
Northeast
RISCCManagement
Regional Invasive Species & Climate Change
Management Challenge
Specialist: Uses only specific food and habitat resources
Generalist: Uses a variety of food and habitat resources
Landscaping with non-native plants
Caterpillars
Birds
eate
n by
Pollina
tors Pollinators
become
Native Plants
Caterpillars
Pollina
tors
eate
n by
Birds
Pollinators
become
Dragonflies
eaten by
Non-native Plants
Landscaping with native plantsFigure 1. Native plants support insects, which in turn support birds and other animals. More caterpillars in your yard might sound alarming, but most of those caterpillars are eaten by nesting birds, and many become pollinators.
Compared to ‘traditional’ landscaping, native land-scaping supports:
50% higher abundance of native birds
9x higher abundance of rare birds
3x more butterfly species
2x higher abundance of native bees
Non-native: A species unlikely to have arrived without human assistanceInvasive: An established non-native species that is spreading with negative impacts
References: Burghardt et al. 2010 Ecosphere; Culina 2002 Houghton Mifflin; Garden et al. 2015 Parasites & Vectors; Liebhold et al. 2012 Front Ecol Environ; Morandin & Kremen 2013 Eco App; Narango et al. 2018 PNAS; Pimentel et al. 2005 Ecol Econ; Poelen et al. 2014 Ecol Info; Simberloff et al. 2012 Ecology; Tallamy & Shropshire 2009 Conserv Biol; Williams et al. 2017 Environ Entomol.
Even seemingly benign non-native species could be ‘sleeper species’ that will become invasive with climate change.
Authors: Emily J. Fusco, Jenica M. Allen, Evelyn M. Beaury, Michelle R. Jackson,
*[email protected] B. Laginhas, Toni Lyn Morelli, Bethany A. Bradley*
Management recommendations
Costs of Non-natives
Share the benefits of native plants with your friends and neighbors
Replace non-native species with natives to prevent future invasion and support biodiversity
Where to find native alternatives
Benefits of Natives
Aim for less than 30% non-native plants in your garden to support nesting success
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(Quercus)Oak
(Prunus)Cherry
(Acer)Maple
(Tilia)Basswood
Native trees
Non-native trees
Num
ber o
f Cat
erpi
llar S
peci
es
Native trees support twice the caterpillar diversity asrelated non-native trees
Common non-native trees gingko, golden raintree & amur maackia support only 5 caterpillar species combined
For the Northeast, New England Wild Flower has a list of native alternatives to invasive plants
Find links to local resources on the USDA Forest Service’s Native Gardening website
Non-native ornamental plants are 40x more likely to become invasive than native ornamental plants.
Sites invaded by Japanese barberry (an invasive plant still available as an ornamental) contain 3x more deer ticks infected with Lyme disease.
An estimated 70% of non-native forest pests, including hemlock woolly adelgid in the U.S. arrived as contaminants on nursery plant imports.
Invasive plants cost the U.S. an estimated $20 billion per year to manage and control.
L.J. Mehrhoff, UConn, Bugwood.org S. Bauer, USDA, wikimedia
N.A. Tonelli, wikimedia
Invasive Japanese barberry Deer ticks carry Lyme
Native hemlock infested with woolly adelgid
J. Benson, flickr
https://doi.org/10.7275/2248-hc42