Author Archives: Sylvan Kaufman

Invasive Species Slogans

The Illinois Invasive Species Awareness Month blog brings you the third installment of catchy invasive species slogans! http://illinoisisam.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-hunt-for-invasive-species-slogans.html “Spread the word, not the weed” was one of my favorites.

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Can extra chromosomes make a plant more invasive?

In 1948 two researchers looked at polyploidy (additional sets of chromosomes) in 175 weedy species in California and found about equal numbers of diploid and polyploid weeds.  They concluded that polyploidy had little to do with weediness in general, but … Continue reading

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Uses and abuses of water hyacinth

Water hyacinth, Eichornia crassipes, is known as the world’s worst aquatic weed because of its prolific growth.  It lowers biodiversity in tropical waterways, shelters pests like mosquitos, and causes eutrophication.  But all that biomass could have its uses.  Patel summarizes … Continue reading

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Is life in the garden less dangerous?

You might think that plants growing in gardens would face fewer pest problems as gardeners vigilantly defend them against unsightly leaf damage and flower mangling.  For introduced ornamental plants this could be just the boost they need to escape the … Continue reading

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Co-evolution between an invader and native plant

Following up on research that demonstrated that garlic mustard’s (Alliaria petiolata) production of chemicals detrimental to other plants declined the longer a population had been established, Lankau now reports on the ability of a native plant to resist the phytotoxins. … Continue reading

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Invasive grasses selfish in soil conditioning

A greenhouse study on native and non-native grasses from the Great Basin looks at changes in soil nutrient levels and soil microbes among species.  The researchers found that although both native and non-native grasses condition soils, the changes caused by … Continue reading

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Trendiest weed control method? Goats!

Goats seem to be the hottest new weed control method.  They have been used for weed control probably since they were first domesticated, but companies offering rental goats specialized in weed control are, growing like weeds.  Goats offer an alternative … Continue reading

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Assessing plants for invasiveness

I’ve been steeped in the nuances of assessments of plant invasiveness the last few months as the Maryland Invasive Plant Advisory Committee develops an assessment for non-native terrestrial plants that grow or could grow in Maryland.  Most assessments look at … Continue reading

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