Invasive Species

One Note for Travelers:

The Nature Preserve is vulnerable to invasive plants and diseases. Try to wash yourselves and your clothes several times before going into the Nature Preserve after traveling to areas with invasive plants or plant diseases. Luckily soap is toxic to some tree killers, such as the Hemlock wooly adelgid and some tree pathogens.

There are many exotic, or non-native, species in the Nature Preserve and unfortunately, many are invasive. Exotic species are plants or animals that normally don't live in our region and have been introduced either by accident or delibrately planted in the area(non-native). Exotic species can be harmless, but many are harmful. A species is considered invasive when it pushes indigenous species out or does some other harm to an ecosystem.

Part of the ongoing management of the Nature Preserve is fighting the spread of invasive species. Unfortunately, there aren't too many methods that have been successfull besides poisoning with herbicides. Even poisoning is rarely a permanent solution. In the Nature Preserve, so far, we have tried manual cutting or pulling of certain species.

Some examples of invasive plants in the Nature Preserve:

• ACommon (Giant) reed (Phragmites australis) -- west end of West Marsh, NP
• Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
• Honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica x morrowii)
• Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) -- one patch near western end of Marsh Trail
• Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) -- west side of Lot M; around Science 1
• Garlic-mustard (Alliaria petiolata)
• Multiflora-rose (Rosa multiflora), thorn filled plant found throughout the woods areas in varying densities.
• Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii)
• Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata)
• Norway-maple (Acer platanoides) -- planted on campus

Some Examples of non-native or exotic plants:

• Balsam fir (Abies balsamea) -- planted along Marsh Trail in early 1990s
• White spruce (Picea glauca) -- planted along Marsh Trail about 1970
• Norway spruce (Picea abies) -- planted along Marsh Trail about 1970; plantation near Susquehanna Community
• Northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) -- planted along Marsh Trail about 1970
• English plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
• Chicory (Cichorium intybus)