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Weeds are frontier plants and create an ecosystem that's viable for more demanding plants. Very few [native] weeds are bad on the whole for the ecosystem that i
by deafpolygon 3y ago
Weeds are frontier plants and create an ecosystem that's viable for more demanding plants. Very few [native] weeds are bad on the whole for the ecosystem that it's part of, and many prevent the destruction of habitats due to climate change, bad soil, human activity.
Many times, those animal habitats have certain habits (poop, eating, etc.) that encourage the ecosystem to thrive. For example, an animal might eat the seeds of a tree and then poop further away from the tree. When the undigested seed inside fecal matter is strategically placed away from the shade of competing trees, it's allowed to grow. But in order for that to even happen, we need what many consider weeds to create healthy fertile soil with a healthy water table (which will dry out and become lower if the ground is bare and dry). A water table that is lower than normal will make it difficult for all but the deepest root growing plants to thrive.
Many weeds will thrive in harsh conditions like that and "prep" the soil for these plants including trees.
And of course, this digresses from the point of the article somewhat. Pollinating insects need plants to pollinate in order to survive. Many weeds are great for this purpose and will allow important pollinators to thrive. Along with urbanization, the temptation is to clear away all these "undesirable" plants - but we're also hurting the pollinators in the process.
It's good to see some research pointing to evidence to what should be common knowledge. Maybe we can convince people to stop making those ridiculous barren lawns and let some native weeds grow [emphasis on native].
- hinkley 3y agoWe tend to try to differentiate between noxious weeds and pioneer plants. Most pioneer plants are labelled weeds, but not all weeds are pioneer plants with a whole indigenous food chain that goes along with it.
- deafpolygon 3y agoThat's true, but most people aren't aware of the nuance. I tried to emphasize native plants in my post - the vast majority are pioneer plants (that natively grow in that particular ecosystem). There are certainly "weeds" for a particular ecosystem that are harmful. I refer to them as invasive species (and yet, aren't all native plants 'invasive' at one point in their evolution?). "Weeds" is a particularly loaded and poor term for describing most of these types of plants.
- Lutger 3y agoCan you give an example of a noxious weed that isn't a super useful pioneer? Where I live, some of the top 5 weeds that feed the most insects (notably dandelion and a thistle), are also among the top annoying weeds in agriculture and vegetable gardening.
- tmoertel 3y agoKudzu? Japanese knotweed? Invasive plants, in general?
- deafpolygon 3y agoI wonder of Japanese knotweed could be used to re-establish habitats in nearly arid places. Kudzu has its uses for nitro-fixing and preventing erosion control.
- greenie_beans 3y agokudzu is awful. have you ever been to the american south? there are better ways to control erosion and put nitrogen in the soil
- kreeben 3y ago>> Many weeds will thrive in harsh conditions I grow weed like that on my balcony. Thyme, they call it. Weed is just "plants you don't want".
- deafpolygon 3y agoYeah, I know the technical definition of weeds. Many plants that get classified as weed is oftentimes plants that people don't want because it will grow where it wants to, thank you very much sir.