Invasive Thoughts

About

Hi, my name is Taylor Shimek

Hi, my name is Taylor Shimek (pronounced shim-eck) and I’m a student, a researcher, and a practitioner. While I wear many hats and have had many aspirations, I always find myself pulled into the world of plants. Through my work and studies, I’ve found that many don’t know much about the plants around us, including which ones are bad actors in disguise. This used to be me, unaware that some of the beautiful plants we see are actually negatively impacting us without us knowing it. Now, my mission is to inspire others to look more closely at the nature that surrounds us, and take action to make the world a better place, one invasive plant at a time.

Why Invasive Plants?

Many are familiar with the plight of what conservation scientists call “charismatic megafauna”: elephants, giraffes, cheetahs, polar bears, whale sharks, dolphins, rhinos, the list goes on. Most of us go to the zoo and have our favorite animals. But what about plants?

Research on plants is severely underfunded in relation to the number of species on the federal endangered species lists, botanical degree offerings are in decline, as well as the number of professional botanists (Balding & Williams, 2016). This can be attributed in part to another fancy science term called “plant blindness.” “Plant blindness,” according to Krosnick et al. (2018), is “defined as the failure to appreciate the fundamental importance of plants.” There are about 391,000 species of plants known to science (Mongabay, 2016) and they provide numerous ecosystem services, yet many of us don’t go to an arboretum, or our local park, or even our yards to look at our favorite tree.

Furthermore, non-native invasive plant species can have extreme costs monetarily, ecologically, and in human health. Invasive species, according to the USDA, are “non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and a species whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic harm, environmental harm, or harm to human health.” (USDA). Built into the definition, many non-native invasive plant species were introduced through cultivation or used to restore habitats and, while they have well-meaning intentions, they have escaped from cultivation and now can cost millions in damages and management (Pimentel et al., 2005; Zenni et al., 2021; Beaury et al., 2021). 

One particularly costly and well documented example is the European-native purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). [Picture of purple loosestrife] It was introduced as an ornamental in the early 19th century and has since been spreading at an alarming rate, overrunning crucial habitats for native plants and wildlife, and costing  “$45 million per year in control costs and forage losses,” as of 2005 (Pimentel et al., 2005).

In terms of human health, one ecosystem service native plants provide is acting as a sink for pollutants and carbon sequestration (Kumar Rai & Singh, 2020). Loss of native plants due to non-native invasive plant species can then impact human health through degradation of natural habitats, increasing exposure to pollution, which has resulted in cardiovascular problems and even mortality and economic loss with extreme exposure (Kumar Rai & Singh, 2020).

Despite this, not every introduced plant species will become invasive. In science, we use The 10% Rule. “The “Ten Percent Rule” is a general rule of thumb that says of all non-native species that are released into new ecosystems, about 10% survive at all, and of these survivors, about 10% (or 1% of the original number of species released) become invasive” (Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], n.d. ). However, with there being over 300,000 species of plants, math dictates that is still approximately 3,000 species to become invasive.

These, among many other reasons, are why we must address invasive plant species and provide education on them, their management, and the native species they are impacting. Together, we can make our world a better place, one invasive plant at a time.

References 

  1. Balding, M., & William, K.J.H. (2016). Plant blindness and the implications for plant conservation. Conservation Biology, 30(6), 1192-119.  https://www.jstor.org/stable/44133504
  2. Beaury, E.M., Patrick M., & Bradley B.A. (2021). Invaders for sale: the ongoing spread of invasive species by the plant trade industry. Ecological Society of America, 19(10):550–556. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/27091534
  3. Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] (n.d.). Invasive Non-Native Species. https://www.epa.gov/watershedacademy/invasive-non-native-species#:~:text=flora%20and%20fauna.-,Ten%20Percent%20Rule,controls%20(natural%20predators%2C%20disease)
  4. Krosnick, S.E., Baker, J.C., & Moore, K.R. (2018). The Pet Plant Project: treating plant blindness by making plants personal. National Association of Biology Teachers, 80(5), 339-345. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26496949
  5. Kumar Rai, P., & Singh, J.S. (2020). Invasive alien plant species: Their impact on environment, ecosystem services and human health. Ecological Indicators, 111,  10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.106020
  6. Mongabay (2016). How many plant species are there in the world? Scientists now have an answer. https://news.mongabay.com/2016/05/many-plants-world-scientists-may-now-answer/amp/
  7. Pimentel, D., Zuniga, R., & Morrison D. (2005). Update on the environmental and economic costs associated with alien-invasive species in the United States. Ecological Economics, 52(3), 273-288. 
  8. United States Department of Agriculture [USDA] (n.d.). Invasive Species. https://www.usda.gov/farming-and-ranching/plants-and-crops/pest-and-weed-management/invasive-species 
  9. Zenni, R.D., Essl, F., Garcia-Berthou, E., & McDermott, S.M. (2021). The economic costs of biological invasions around the world. NeoBiota, 67, 1-9. 10.3897/neobiota.67.69971