Stop 2: Invasive Plants

What is an invasive plant?

While all plants may have their charm, not all are as beautiful on the “inside” as they may appear. Just as every species has a unique melding of evolutionary adaptations and mutations that are not always transferable to other species, so ecosystems have layered adaptations and complexities that are easily thrown off balance by the introduction of a foreign subject. This has to do primarily with the food web and trophic levels. Each ecosystem is specially tailored to the native species (plants, insects, and animals alike) and resources (sunlight, water, temperature) that comprise a given region. When foreign species are imported, whether accidentally or intentionally, native species may not eat them because they are unfamiliar. Thus, the “invading” species is able to consume without being controlled, leading to a population explosion. There are other ways this trend can occur, as well, but lack of predation is the most common environmental control (or lack thereof).

What makes this unchecked population boom particularly problematic is the competition for resources. Invasive species spread so rapidly that they overtake the resources native species require for survival and can severely damage, displace, or even eliminate native populations. Additionally, they drastically alter the landscape. The damage caused by invasive species is usually irreversible, with maintenance and control measures being short-lived as they are outpaced by the invader’s relentless spread. That’s why the emphasis is on prevention rather than reaction.

Unfortunately, this trend is not unfamiliar to the Brandywine Creek State Park or surrounding region. Even as a state park, it is difficult to monitor and control invasive species at the rate that would be necessary to stop their spread. They just move too quickly.