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Native plants and species are already suited to the area, so it is a great place to start. What I am finding though, is that the main difference between an inv
by hosh 4y ago
Native plants and species are already suited to the area, so it is a great place to start.
What I am finding though, is that the main difference between an invasive species, and a native species that is vigorous, is that the native species has a lot of interactions with other species within the local biome. And invasive species does not, so runs unchecked without a predator, or does not provide any benefits for other species. If they did, they would be “native”. Over time, the biome will adapt, and interactions will start arising.
There very much are circumstances in which an invasive, resilient species is the right thing. For example, Jerome, Arizona, is an old copper mining town with a devastated ecosystem. Tailings from the copper mine poisoned the land. It’s at a steep incline, with severe erosion. Houses had been sliding off the slope.
When the mine shut down, and the population dropped to about 100 residents, fhe mayor at the time brought in an invasive tree called the Tree of Heaven to save the town. That mayor hired an aircraft to seed it all around Jerome. This tree is invasive, difficult to kill once established, drives out other species, and produces copious amount of seeds. Crucially, it can survive soil that has been poisoned by the mining tailing. It grows everywhere in Jerome — and holds what soil is there. This terrible, aggressive plant is helping to remediate a land trashed by human activity.
https://youtu.be/Oayt7eru2nc https://youtu.be/Oayt7eru2nc