Species Abstracts of Highly Disruptive Exotic Plants
The invasion of non-indigenous plants has been recognized by park managers and natural resource scientists as one of the most serious threats to the integrity of natural systems, rare communities and species, and animal habitat. In a collaborative and on-going project, NBS, the National Park Service, and academic scientists are collecting the data necessary (1) to determine distribution and abundance of non-indigenous plants in national parks in the central United States, and (2) to rank the plants with respect to their invasiveness, potential to disrupt the ecosystem, and ability to be controlled. This information will be used to develop realistic management plans for non-indigenous plant species at each park.
The pages that follow include the ranking system, developed by Ronald Hiebert and James Stubbendiek, and comprehensive abstracts for each species that was ranked as highly disruptive in the areas that have been surveyed. The abstracts contain information on the taxonomy, ecology, distribution within the park, control options, and a literature review for each plant.
Currently, field work is continuing at Theodore Roosevelt National Park and is planned for Wind Cave National Park and Knife River Indian Villages. If you have comments or questions regarding this project, you may direct them to Diane Larson, Research Biologist, Northern Prairie Science Center.
All abstracts included here were initially written by Chuck Butterfield and edited by James Stubbendieck for Pipestone National Monument (PIPE), with the exception of the abstracts on Cynoglossum, Centaurea, and Lythrum which were written by Julie Stumpf and edited by James Stubbendieck. For the Scotts Bluff (SCBL) and Effigy Mounds (EFMO) National Monuments reports, abstracts of plants that had also occurred at PIPE were simply modified to reflect that parks population numbers and rankings. Thus, there will be quite a lot of repetition in abstracts between the park's with only ranking and population numbers changed.
This resource should be cited as:
Butterfield, Chuck, James Stubbendieck, and Julie Stumpf. 1996. Species abstracts of highly disruptive exotic plants. Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/othrdata/exoticab/index.htm (Version 16JUL97).
Table of Contents
Effigy Mounds National Monument (December 1994)
- Lythrum salicaria -- Purple loosestrife, purple lythrum
- Rhamnus cathartica -- Common buckthorn
- Rosa multiflora -- Multiflora rose, Japanese rose
- Lonicera tatarica -- Tatarian honeysuckle, tartarian honeysuckle
- Bromus inermis -- Smooth brome, Hungarian brome, Austrian brome, Russian brome, awnless brome
- Cirsium arvense -- Canada thistle, field thistle, creeping thistle, California thistle
- Poa pratensis -- Kentucky bluegrass, Junegrass
- Agropyron repens -- Quackgrass, couchgrass
Pipestone National Monument (July 1992)
- Rhamnus cathartica -- Common buckthorn
- Bromus inermis -- Smooth brome, Hungarian brome, Austrian brome, Russian brome, awnless brome
- Poa pratensis -- Kentucky bluegrass, Junegrass
- Euphorbia esula -- Leafy spurge
- Lonicera tatarica -- Tatarian honeysuckle, tartarian honeysuckle
- Agropyron repens -- Quackgrass, couchgrass
- Cirsium arvense -- Canada thistle, field thistle, creeping thistle, California thistle
- Sonchus arvensis -- Perennial sowthistle, field sowthistle, sowthistle, creeping sowthistle, milk thistle, corn sowthistle
- Carduus nutans -- Musk thistle, nodding thistle
- Melilotus alba -- White sweetclover, sweetclover
Scotts Bluff National Monument
- Cirsium arvense -- Canada thistle, field thistle, creeping thistle, California thistle
- Carduus nutans -- Musk thistle, nodding thistle
- Bromus inermis -- Smooth brome, Hungarian brome, Austrian brome, Russian brome, awnless brome
- Bromus tectorum -- Downy brome, downy chess, early chess, drooping brome, cheatgrass brome, wild oats, military grass
- Poa pratensis -- Kentucky bluegrass, Junegrass
- Melilotus spp. -- White sweetclover, sweetclover
- Cynoglossum officinale -- Hound's tongue, dog bur, gypsy flower
- Centaurea diffusa -- Diffuse knapweed
Local Control Experts for SCBL Species: Extension Weed Specialist Panhandle Research and Extension Center 4502 Avenue I Scotts Bluff, NE 69361-4939 (308) 635-2640 Local Control Experts for PIPE Species: Extension Weed Specialist Department of Natural Resources Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics Box 25 DNR Building University of Minnesota 500 Lafayette Road St. Paul, MN 55155 St. Paul, MN 55155 (612) 625-5753 (612) 296-0778For further information on any of these National Monuments contact the following:
Effigy Mounds National Monument
151 Highway 76
Harper's Ferry, Iowa 52146
(319)/873-3491
Pipestone National Monument
P.O. Box 727
Pipestone, Minnesota 56164
(507)/825-5464
Scotts Bluff National Monument
P.O. Box 27
Gering, Nebraska 69341-0027
(308)/436-4340
exoticab.zip (183K) -- Species Abstracts of Highly Disruptive Exotic PlantsInstallation: Extract all files and open index.htm in a web browser.