Volunteers Work with U.Va. to Stem Plant Invasion
April 30, 2009 — University of Virginia landscapers are working with local volunteers to repel an invasion … of foreign plant species.
Volunteers Work with U.Va. to Stem Plant Invasion
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The Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards have worked alongside U.Va. Facilities Management personnel for several months digging out invasive species like honeysuckle and "Trees of Heaven" from a one-acre parcel of woods on University property. The site is located along the Rivanna Trail, between Barracks Road and The Park, where the University's varsity softball field is located.
Invasive species are plants or animals not native to an area, but which tend to thrive because of climate, lack of predators or both. One of the most famous invasive species is kudzu, introduced into the United States in the late 1800s from Japan as a forage and ornamental plant. Farmers were later encouraged to use it as an erosion control plant until it was declared a noxious weed in the 1950s.
"These are plants that are brought in for a purpose, such as building hedges, but then they escape," said Tim Spencer, U.Va.'s landscape supervisor for the North Grounds. "They out-compete native plants and take over. They grow faster and, in a lot of cases, wildlife doesn't like to eat them and they crowd out the native species."
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Another big round of applause to Virginia's Tree Stewards.