2021. Invasive Plant Species Dominating Native Plant Species
December 13, 2021
Open gallery
The overtaking of invasive plant species will outcompete native plant species. #Savenativeplants
by Jake Lupie
Dealing with invasive species has been an issue since the dawn of time. Invasive plants have a drive to spread to further their species domination. This spreading can be a factor of human beings, natural causes of climate change. Invasive plants will outcompete native plants in multiple ways. They might grow over them to block sunlight, or they might choose to use chemical warfare by releasing chemicals into the soil. However, invasive plants have proven to improve the biomass of insects in a given environment. Now we must choose what we consider more valuable, insects biomass, or native plants keeping the environment stable.
Our data proved to us that invasive plants are more durable into the later months of winter. Because of this, the plants provide shelter and food longer for invertebrates. It also allows the invasive plant species to continue to grow as the native plants become dormant. These findings prove to us that we must carefully observe environments with invasive plants. They can drastically change our environment for good or bad. To keep our ever changing planet stable, it is important to know what is happening in our surrounding ecosystems.