[NatureNS] White list of authorized plants

Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 09:16:33 -0400
From: "Frederick W. Schueler" <bckcdb@istar.ca>
Organization: Bishops Mills Natural History Centre
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strate the advantage of a white list over a banned list.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&
On 10/26/2010 8:27 AM, Randy Lauff wrote:
>
> I am, however, confident that any of the jobs you've attributed to [Purple Loosestrife]
> can be done by native plants. And, you have conveniently overlooked
> their ability to dominate wetlands. Perhaps a drive to Ottawa, through
> Quebec would convince you...I did this this summer. Loosestrife has not
> only invaded huge areas, it I fear, has won.

* this thread has been fascinating, and I haven't been sure I had 
anything to add, though there have been thoughts about the question if 
some plants become invasive just because they've only been introduced a 
few times, and haven't brought their pests along through multiple 
introductions, as widely introduced species such as Apples have.

This summer we were very impressed by how sparse Purple Loosestrife was 
in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, in comparison to southern Ontario and 
Quebec, where Purple Loosestrife has been "controlled" by the 
introduction of Galerucella Beetles, and is much less widespread than it 
was before 2004. You can recognize Loosestrife that's been hammered by 
Galerucella by the holes in the leaves and the twisted and forked 
character of the stems.

This summer, after an irregular spring, herbivorous Insects in general 
did poorly in eastern Ontario, and the Loosestrife "got away from" the 
Beetles. Many places where Loosestrife hadn't flowered for some years 
were again purple. My conclusion is that these were plants that had 
previously been suppressed by the Beetles, but not killed, in previous 
years, so that the extent of Loosestrife hasn't yet come to equilibrium 
with the presence of Galerucella.

I think that in another decade a lot of these wounded plants will have 
died, and that in a year when herbivorous Insects don't thrive, there 
won't be such a resurgence of bloom as we saw this summer.

fred schueler
------------------------------------------------------------
          Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad
Bishops Mills Natural History Centre - http://pinicola.ca/bmnhc.htm
now in the field on the Thirty Years Later Expedition -
http://fragileinheritance.org/projects/thirty/thirtyintro.htm
Daily Paintings - http://karstaddailypaintings.blogspot.com/
     RR#2 Bishops Mills, Ontario, Canada K0G 1T0
   on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44* 52'N 75* 42'W
    (613)258-3107 <bckcdb at istar.ca> http://pinicola.ca/
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