Essay The Invasive Mimosa Tree is Taking Over Florida

It is known as “the vine that ate the South”—Kudzu. Native to Japan and southeastern China, this invasive species spreads like wildfire in its new home in the southeastern United States.

By taking action, people will eliminate the problem in a shorter, more effective manor. One article states, “Since people can now travel around the world much more easily than they ever could before, it has become easier to introduce invasive species by accident,” (Alien Attack, paragraph 5). This demonstrates how quickly species can spread with the help of humans. People need to eliminate these species faster in order to save ecosystems. Overall, humans need to remove all invasive species before they take over the ecosystems of the world.

The Maryland ecosystem is being ravaged by several invasive species. These species are introduced into the ecosystem in several ways, with several discoveries of invasive species every year. Whether it be Wavyleaf basketgrass or Purple loosestrife, these plants are capable of outcompeting with native plants and causing devastation to the native ecosystem. These invasive species are damaging to the environment and we should work as a community to halt the spread and limit its impact on the ecosystem of Maryland.

Some examples of invasive species at Morialta Conservation Park include red foxes, weeds, blackberries, olive trees and many more. Foxes are responsible for the decline of small mammals, reptiles, and birds. One way to decrease the growth of invasive plants is to wear clean shoes. Morialta manages invasive species by putting up management signs at the information centre. I cannot think of any other way of managing invasive species.

There are many invasive species in Florida, which affect the environment in many ways. First, one way is that the animal cannot thrive in its new environment, the reasons being; not enough food or the wrong climate. Another example would be, that the animal might thrive successfully and reproduce. This is detrimental to the environment because the animal or plant can wreak havoc and become an invasive species. Species can become invasive due to the lack of predators in its environment.

What makes something invasive? Is it when the object takes over? When it reproduces to a great extent? When it takes over all of your space? These are all aspects of an "invasive" thing. Invaders cause other tiny problems along the path of their destruction that can be difficult to control. In Mark Sanchez's, "The Invaders," and Aaron Hartman's, "Kudzu: From Pretty Vine to Invasive Pest", two plants, the milfoil and kudzu, are taking over. These invasive weeds have more than just being invasive in common with each other, they also share a hand full of dissimilarities. These plants have gobs of similarities and differences between each other.

However, once they infest a tree they will continue to feed on it for years, causing severe damage to nutrient transport systems, which can cause massive leaf die offs, dead roots, and the death of the tree itself.

Another invasive species are the Nutria. The Nutria comes from South America. It is not exactly clear

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.

Many people think that to get rid of them we have to cut down the ash trees but that is not true. Recently in Burnsville, this summer it injected 14 ash trees at City Hall with pesticide to protect them against the emerald ash borer. Deborah McCullough, a professor of entomology and forestry at Michigan State University. Based on her research, she says: “There is no reason for a landscape ash tree to die from emerald ash borer anymore. The treatment is so effective and so much cheaper than removal and replacement that I can’t get a single elected official to weigh in on the side of removing healthy trees because we don’t have to, and that is never popular with the public.” Private ash trees that were not injected are dead, while treated ash trees on city property stand nearby in good health. Michigan and Ohio State research shows that injecting Tree-age “provides at least two years of almost 100 percent control” of larvae, McCullough said. Applying pesticides every two years costs about $250 a tree, while removal and replacement is $700 to $1,200 a tree. The company says the product is a safe, “organic” option. We should try that option instead of cutting down trees. This would help protect the area of great lakes from emerald ash

Population management is dependent upon the carrying capacity of a population. The carrying capacity of a population is described as the maximum population size of a species that the environment can sustain given all necessary items such as food, water and habitat are available. Genetic diversity is a key value when discussing population management as the more diverse a population is, the more resistant that species will be to environmental changes and disease. Over population, exceeding that population’s carrying capacity can cause starvation, loss of habitat and death. Controlling food sources and other natural resources can help control a population’s numbers; which further increases the opportunity for genetic diversity among healthy species. Another way to control invasive species, mostly plant species, is via controlled fires; alternatively the reintroduction of natural predators also controls populations. As with everything in life, we can have ‘too much’ – finding the happy medium in the points above is key to successful population management. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission has a very detailed population

An invasive species is an organism that is not native to a certain area but it resides there anyway (What is an Invasive Species, 2016). There are many of these invasive species that are now in Florida. Such as the Muscovy duck, the Burmese python, the Asian sword fern, and many others. Invasive species can be a huge burden on nature, and society. This is why certain species that are not in this region of the world should stay out.

It can dominate certain areas and create a homogenization of florals by suppressing native plants (Kuhn and Klotz 2006).

With the increasing amount of disturbed habitats, invasive species could soon become the leading cause of ecological degradation (Soulé & Orians, 2001).  Invasive species can alter habitats in a number of ways.  Changes in the physical structure of the land are the most visually obvious.  Examples include narrowing stream channels, reducing sand supply to dunes, and stabilizing surfaces such as mudflats, and each invasive species goes about these changes in their own way.  For instance, the burrowing activities of Australian isopods cause the banks of tidal channels to collapse, leading to the widening of channels and the loss of vegetated salt marsh (Cox, 1999).  On the other hand, Japanese mussels that have invaded the San Diego area are stabilizing mudflats.  Although reaching Southern California in the 1960s,

Invasive species are organisms that are not native to an ecosystem and cause harm to it. These organisms are capable of bringing about a great deal of damage to the ecosystems they are foreign to. This can range from disrupting the growth of the environment it has taken over to completely decimating other species. The introduction of invasive species to new environments often involves humans. The way that invasive species are introduced to a new environment varies greatly. Invasive species may be introduced by something as simple as humans accidentally tracking species into a new environment from the bottom of their shoes, or something bigger like destroying an ecosystem to clear the land, forcing the species that lived there to flee to a new ecosystem that can be disrupted by the presence of a new species.