The Effects Of Noxious Weeds On Rangeland

The book entitled, “Ecology of Weeds and Invasive Plants”, opens with a quote from Dr. A. S. Crafts saying, “in the beginning there were no weeds.”. This quote causes one to stop and think about it. What Dr. Crafts meant by this quote was that even though plants have existed for many years, weeds did not exist before humans began to travel about. With all the traveling that humans do the problem of invasive plants has grown tremendously (Radosevich, 1). The impact that invasive species have on the environment is often overlooked or thought of as unimportant. The issue is vast, yet little is done about it. The problem with invasive species is extremely important and will impact the world for generations to come. This paper will explain what invasive species are, show the negative impacts invasive species have on the environment, and what we can do about this issue.

An example of an invasive plant includes the Canada thistle. The Canada thistle harms the environment because it, “crowds out and replaces native plants, changes the structure and species composition of natural plant communities and reduces plant and animal diversity… prevents the coexistence of other plant species through shading, competition for soil resources… through the release of chemical toxins poisonous to other plants” (Canada). The Canada thistle’s only special way of harming the surrounding environment consists of poisoning the plants that surround it. Otherwise the Canada thistle does not have any special ways that it harms the environment. People brought the Canada thistle to the United States in the 1600’s. By the year 1954, Canada and the United States of America declare the Canada thistle as a “noxious weed.” However now many consider the Canada thistle as an invasive plant (Canada). The Canada thistle has many ways that you can control it. You can cut it by hand, pull the plant out, burn them, or use chemicals to kill these plants. The best way to get rid of the Canada thistle encompasses using chemicals. If you do not have any chemicals to do this job you can always cut the plant down to the ground, and when it regrows do this again until the roots become exhausted

Invasive plant species are a problem all over the United States and many people fail to realize it. These invaders can cause huge amounts of damage to native environments. More people need to be made aware of the problem that is happening with these species. Education is the best way to get people to realize the problem at hand and get involved in helping reduce the spread and prevent further damage from being done.

The rangelands of the west are the legendary rolling hills and wide-open spaces of American history and folklore. Federal and nonfederal rangelands include grasslands, deserts, tundra, mountains, canyons, and riparian areas. Federal rangelands are primarily managed by the Bureau of Land Management, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Rangelands include wilderness areas and provide habitat for millions of plants, wild animals, and fish, including 74 threatened or endangered species (“Rangeland Health”). Rangeland is the base of forage for most of the livestock industry in America. They also provide recreational opportunities, wildlife habitat, and off-site

Fire! Most people are alarmed with that word. But fire is a major factor in allowing the grasslands to exist. Native Americans used to burn prairies to get rid of all of the dead grass and allow the new grass to grow for the bison to eat. Burning off grasslands in the spring permits the grass to grow without being restricted by the old, dead grass. Fire also kills the parasites and flies that bother the cattle in the summer. Invasive cedar trees overtake grasses and starve out good native grasses. Other methods can be used to combat them but fire is the quickest and most efficient. While pasture burning may seem harmful to some, it’s an essential way to keep our grasslands and prairies in working order.

I don’t think that this will be very good for our environment. All of those chemicals are also dangerous for humans and animals. Consequently, the weeds will eventually grow resistance to these chemicals too. This is why we need to find another way to prevent weed infestations safely. There are multiple ways to prevent weeds such as, corn starch based film or paper mulch to help prevent weeds from growing. Another way is called cover cropping, this is a method where farmers grow other crops in between the rows such a clover and alfalfa that become living mulch and recycle nutrients back into the soil as they

Currently, the sagebrush ecosystem is rapidly declining across the Western United States, with over 350 associated plant and animal species at risk of being lost and imperiled. The main reason for the sagebrush decline is the steady encroachment of cheatgrass and pinyon-juniper. The invasion of these plants are fueling larger and more frequent fires that are out competing sagebrush as well as the associated grass species that are native components of the ecosystem, taking over much land that sagebrush once occupied. Cheatgrass was introduced to North America through contaminated grain seed, straw packing material, and soil used as ballast in ships sailing from Eurasia in the late 1890’s and is now the main culprit behind sagebrush decline.

An invasive species is a non-native species whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic harm, environmental harm, or harm to human health. The term "invasive" is used for the most harmful aggressive plants & animal. These species grow and reproduce rapidly, causing major harm to the biomes in which they are introduced too. If most invasive species are left uncontrolled in certain situations they can destroy the ecosystem they’re in leaving it useless for native species. The longer we ignore the dilemma the harder, more expensive the battle for the biomes will become. Most invasive species can terrorize your ability to enjoy hunting, fishing, boating or other outdoor recreational activities. “The United States suffers from $1.1-120 billion per year in economic losses due to exotic, invasive species.” (Invasive)

Competition is a fundamental ecological process that is observed and studied in numerous species. Individuals can compete within their own species (intraspecific competition) or they can compete against other species (interspecific competition) (Molles and Cahill 2011). Resource limitation and space are commonly competed for among individuals, which in turn, changes the structure and biodiversity of communities (Craine and Dybzinski 2013). One of the most notable cases of interspecific competition occurs between invasive weeds and non-invasive species, such as, agricultural crops (Ashraf et al. 2012). Weeds are usually undesirable native or non-native plants that are able to adapt to poor environments, and thrive in various conditions (Ashraf

In California today, there are a lot of plants and animals populating the region. The Environmental Protection Agency states “French broom (Genista monspessulana) is an invasive shrub from Europe now abundant in California”(EPA). Though French broom does not sound imposing, the problems it has caused are copious. If French broom is not stopped at an early stage, it can grow rapidly and have drastic effects. Today, the effects are becoming more and more unmanageable because it is deleterious to the environment and other species. All of these reasons can make the issue of French broom quite a pressing one, especially now more than ever.

In the last years, invasive species have i remeber sypupchanged the Great Lakes ecosystem. These changes have affected the economy, health, and recreation. Once invasive species entered the Great Lakes its hard to stop them. Some examples of invasive are sea lamphrey, zebra mussles, round goby, and alewife just to name a few. Zebra Mussles are a problem because they clog pipes, stick on everthing and anything, eat native species food, and clean waters alowing sunlight to come in the water thats gives power to nasty plants to grow. Asian carp are of concern because they have been found in nearby waterways that eventually connect to the Great Lakes. Scientest began to construct a eletric fence to prevent asain carp from getting in the Great Lakes.

Invasive species come in many forms; they can be plants, animals, insects, fish, fungus, organisms, and bacteria. Invasive plants are those which cause environmental, economic and human harm and originate from another area or region. They are a complex and difficult problem to tackle. There are more than 4,000 plants species found in Florida, of those 1300 or more are non-native or invasive. Many invasive species are taking over Florida’s waterways disrupting their natural ecosystem by outgrowing and replacing Florida’s native plants. Relieving the damage they cause is not easy, but scientists and members of the communities being affected are finding that it is achievable, as long as everyone works as a team to address the issue.

Invasive species are plants or animals that spread to a non-native ecosystem and cause harm to that area. Common characteristics of invasive species include their ability to permit a variety of conditions, produce lots of seeds or eggs, separate easily, has long growing period or quick reproduction time, and their new environment has comparable conditions to the original habitat. Invasive species most often have negative impacts when they are transported to another environment. A recent study done by the Center for Aquatic Conservation describes the effect some invasive species have. In various states of the U.S, it has been found that invasive species are costing more than “$200 million a year in losses to commercial

An invasive species is a plant, fungus, or animal species that is not native to a specific location and one point should be noticed is that invasive species does not have to come from another country. For example, lake trout are native to the Great Lakes, but are considered to be an invasive species in Yellowstone Lake because they compete with native cutthroat trout for habitat. Although there are some invasive species arrive with spread and establish populations, like the native butterflies feed on non-native plants in California, the alien trees help restore abandoned pastures to a condition suitable for native plants in Puerto Rico and even the much-maligned zebra mussel helps filter toxins from great lakes, most policymakers regard invasive