{"id":2577,"date":"2021-06-13T14:41:54","date_gmt":"2021-06-13T18:41:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/backlandscoalition.ca\/?p=2577"},"modified":"2022-12-06T13:23:37","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T17:23:37","slug":"invasive-exotic-plants-are-making-their-way-into-the-backlands-13jun2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/backlandscoalition.ca\/?p=2577","title":{"rendered":"Invasive & Exotic Plants are making their way into the Backlands 13Jun2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

Invasive multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) is a threat to the wetlands\/watercourse margins in particular. Appearance of other, non-invasive exotics such as clover, dandelion and plantain on the barrens are indicative of some loss of Ecological Integrity. I have some concern that continued loss of Ecological Integrity could result in substantial change in the “nationally unique and globally rare” Jack Pine\/Broom Crowberry communities.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Purcell\u2019s Cove Conservation Lands<\/a> are disturbed
periodically by fire (burned stands can be seen in the
distance, unburned Jack Pine\/Broom Crowberry\u00a0
Barrens up close)\u00a0but there\u00a0 were no exotic species\u00a0in a
2012 survey<\/a>. What about now?
Click on image for larger version<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Post & related pages by David Patriquin
\nJune 13, 2021<\/p>\n

A remarkable feature of the Backlands is that there are very few\u00a0exotic plant species<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0within in its confines.<\/p>\n

Exotic\u00a0species (also described as alien, introduced or non-native)\u00a0 are those\u00a0 that have arrived in NS\u00a0 since European colonization, as opposed to native species<\/strong> which “been observed in the form of a naturally occurring and self-sustaining population in historical times”. (However species that are native in adjacent\u00a0 areas like N.B.\u00a0 but that have been recorded here only recently would be considered “native”.)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0View Definitions<\/a><\/p>\n

Roughly 1\/3rd\u00a0 of the approximately 2400 vascular (higher) plant species in Nova Scotia\u00a0 are species of exotic origin.\u00a0 Most of these exotic species are species of human-disturbed habitats such as clovers\u00a0, plantain and Queen Anne\u2019s lace. Many arrived here with the early settlers, but exotic species also continue to arrive\u00a0 either through deliberate introductions (e.g. for gardens) or inadvertently and some of them to naturalize (“go wild”).<\/p>\n

The general absence of exotic species in the Backlands\u00a0 is good news because it is\u00a0 an indication that the plant communities in the Backlands have a high degree of ‘Ecological Integrity<\/strong>‘<\/a>.
\n<\/p>\n

Fortunately, very few exotic plants become invasive<\/strong> and invade and disrupt native plant communities.\u00a0 Currently about 15 species are in the invasive species lists for NS<\/a>. In\u00a0 areas just outside of the Backlands, only two – Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora<\/em>) and Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum<\/em> & P. sachalinense<\/em>) have a significant foothold right now.<\/p>\n

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Rosa multiflora in flower and in fruit
Click on image to enlarge<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

I spotted one of those – Rosa multiflora<\/em>\u00a0(Multiflora rose) within the Backlands, on Lawsons Brook just below the dam<\/a> on Williams Lake earlier this spring. This was concerning, as\u00a0\u00a0R. multiflora<\/em> can be really disruptive in wetlands and be essentially impossible to remove; it is now well socked into some wetlands in the Frog Pond area for example.<\/p>\n

So I think we should be on the lookout for\u00a0\u00a0R. multiflora<\/em>, and quickly remove it or cut it back where it is just getting established to\u00a0 prevent massive infestations in the Backlands. (Once it get’s well established it’s essentially a dun deal.)\u00a0R. multiflora<\/em> is most readily spotted in early July when it is flowering, so coming up.<\/p>\n

What to do if you spot one in the Backlands? Well to begin, please report it on iNaturalist<\/a> and it will appear on a project page for Rosa multiflora<\/em><\/a> in the Backlands. (Also, the iNaturalist community will confirm, or not,\u00a0 the identification.)<\/p>\n

At the moment, it appears that there is no coordinated strategy for dealing with invasive plants\u00a0 in the Backlands, or even, it appears, \u00a0within HRM or in NS. The NS Invasive Species Council<\/a>\u00a0is just getting going and hopefully will fill the void; it has a form for reporting invasive species.<\/p>\n

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Dandelion by Jack Pine on the barrens,
May 17, 2021
Could loss of Ecological Integrity
suggested by the presence of exotics,
if continued, lead eventually to very
different communities?<\/p><\/div>\n

Less concerning\u00a0 but at the same time, indicative of some degradation of the Ecological Integrity<\/a> of the Backlands, are other exotic plants that are not considered \u201cinvasive\u201d such as dandelions, plantain and clovers. I have begun to see some of those by trails on the barrens by Governors Brook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I have some concern that loss of Ecological Integrity suggested by the presence of exotics, if continued, could lead eventually to very different plant communities on the barrens; those barrens which now host\u00a0 “nationally unique and globally rare”\u00a0Jack Pine\/Broom Crowberry barrens.<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more on the topic\u00a0 on this website under
\nExotic & Invasive Plants<\/a>, and its subpages:<\/p>\n