Invasive plants are headache for woodland and landscape management

Managing for invasive species in The Arboretum Woods is an ongoing task, requiring research and a lot of elbow grease. The Arboretum Woods is a remnant inner Bluegrass woodland with an interesting history of being mowed and grazed a long time ago, when UK had an agricultural experiment station on the property.

Once those practices were stopped, bush honeysuckle swifty invaded the area. A push in the early 2000s succeeded in eliminating much of the honeysuckle, but wintercreeper and other invasive speces were waiting for their chance to emerge. Woodland owners, even homeowners, can learn from the research going on in the UK Department of Forestry and Natural Resources and The Arboretum to eradicate nonnative, invasive species and promote native species that support our wildlife.

Lesser celandine competes with wintercreeper for space in woodlands. Both are nonnative, invasive plants. Photo by Ellen Crocker

After covering the plants with black tarps to solarize the soil, in 2021 lesser celandine is in far less profusion than two years earlier. Photo by Ellen Crocker

Eradicating nonnative, invasive species allows native species, like spring-blooming Virginia bluebells to thrive. Photo by Carol Lea Spence

Students in a course on managing invasive species help eradicate honeysuckle in The Arboretum Woods. Photo by Ellen Crocker.

Invasive wintercreeper (top) blankets much of The Arboretum Woods. Trilliums, (bottom) a native spring wildflower, are able to reestablish in a spot where wintercreeper has been eradicated. Photo by Carol Lea Spence

Ellen Crocker (left) and Emily Ellingson examine native sedges growing in The Arboretum Woods. Photo by Carol Lea Spence

Lesser celandine may be a pretty sight in early spring, but it can take over an area rapidly, pushing out native wildflowers on which native fauna depend. Photo by Emily Ellingson.

Emily Ellingson (left) and Ellen Crocker pause to examine the progress they are making in battling nonnative, invasive species in The Arboretum Woods. Photo by Carol Lea Spence

Eradicating nonnative, invasive species allows native species, like these native buckeyes to thrive. Photo by Carol Lea Spence

Lesser celandine blankets the floor of The Arboretum Woods in 2019. Photo by Ellen Crocker

Ellen Crocker takes a picture of the nonnative, invasive lesser celandine. Photo by Carol Lea Spence.

A UK student helps eradicate invasive species from The Arboretum Woods. Photo by Ellen Crocker

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