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Invasive Plants

May 2019

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Invasive Plants – What are they?

Any non-native plant species that has the capacity to negatively impact animals, humans and ecosystems
Generally free from natural predators or pathogens that keep them in check in their native habitats

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Invasive Plants – why care?

IPs aggressively compete with native plants for EVERYTHING

Light
Nutrients
Growing Space

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Aggressive reproductive strategies – IPs generally either produce lots of seed that will stay viable in a seed bank for decades or depend on vegetative reproductions from root and stem tissue fragments

Examples in photos – Giant Hogweed, currently only found on the coast, can cause blistering and up to 3^rd degree burns, grows to 13 feet tall, one plant can produce 20,000 windborne seeds/year

Yellow flowers – Common Tansy, mainly spread through seed but also through roots. Control of seed dispersal Is more important than control of vegetative spread. Can have up to 200 flower heads/plant. Requires repeated mowing/heribicide treatment to eradicate.

Japanese Knotweed in riparian area – known to occur in the PG area. Regenerates by small pieces of root and stem fragments. Underground rhizomes can grow 2m deep and have a 20m lateral spread. Can regenerate from depths of up to 1m and only needs as little as 0.7g of stem or root tissue to reproduce. Think about normal level of plant diversity in riparian area and then look at this photo – can you think of any impacts to riparian habitat and the species that use it?

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Invasive Plants – why care?

Suppress native plant and seedling growth
Reduce forage for wildlife and livestock
Threaten future plant communities as IP seeds can remain viable in soil for decades

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Invasive Plants – why care?

Legal commitments around Invasive Plants through the Forest Stewardship Plan
ID of priority IPs and Prevention Mechanisms

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Lakes & Bulkley District IPMA List

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Prevention Mechanisms

Don’t park equipment in areas infested with invasive plants
Check that soil and surfacing material are free from invasive plants
Minimize soil disturbance (keep landings and turn-arounds as small as possible)
Re-vegetate disturbed areas as soon as possible
Remove obvious plant material from machinery

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What can you do?

Report sightings!

Report any sightings of a plant that looks like it doesn’t belong in a particular location.

Report-a-Weed and Report-Invasives-BC Apps

Available for both Android and iPhone
Ability to search plants by common name, flower colour
Large photo databases
Can be used off-line to submit reports�

Call it in: 1-888-WEEDSBC

Image from northernhoot.com 31/05/2016

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Resources

North West Invasive Plant Council:�http://nwipc.org/

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Resources

Invasive Plant Council of BC: https://bcinvasives.ca/

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Resources

Invasive Alien Plant Program and Application: https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hra/plants/index.htm
Reporting Applications:�https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hra/invasive-species/index.htm

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Thank you

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