March
of the garlic mustard, continued
Ah,
who needs a healthy
Lake
Park, anyway?
Large
sections of it are ravaged by garlic mustard.
More
about garlic mustard:
"It
readily invades forested habitats where it can displace
native plants, compete with timber species regeneration,
alter soil composition and structure, impact natural
associations between plants and fungi, and result
in cascading ecosystem impacts. In
Europe, garlic mustard is a host plant for cucumber
mosaic virus (CMV), turnip mosaic virus (TMV), and
turnip yellow mosic virus (TYMV-A), which affect
commercial crucifer (mustard family) crops. On the
noxious weed list in several states, the presence
of garlic mustard as seed or rosettes in container
or field grown nursery stock may result in rejection
of plant materials or import restrictions. The harvest
or commercial production of forest plants or fungi
such as ginseng or morel mushrooms may also be affected."
---Michigan
State University
Garlic
mustard harms trees, study shows
May
22, 2006 -- The garlic mustard that
is overwhelming county parks and is taking
over other sites in Milwaukee is worse than
previously thought -- it damages hardwood
trees by stunting their growth, a new study
shows.
Experts
have long recognized garlic mustard as a threat
to biodiversity because of its aggressive
spread and its ability to crowd out native
plants.
The
new study shows the weed could threaten a
generation of trees, according to a Harvard
University plant population biologist.
A
young tree in Mitchell Blvd. Park, defeated
amid the garlic mustard.
The
study shows the garlic mustard releases chemicals
that harms a fungus trees depend upon for
growth and survival.
Mitchell Blvd. Park
The
friendly fungus, call arbuscular mycorrhizal
fungi (AMF), which penatrate plant roots and
effectively extends a tree's root system,
according to Harvard.
Scientists
found that interference with the fungus interfered
with tree developement. Three tree species
-- sugar maple, red maple, and white ash --
grew at 10% their normal rates when they were
in areas infested with garlic mustard.
Garlic mustard is blossoming
along the Hank Aaron State Trail
"This
suggests garlic mustard invades the understory
of mature forests by poisoning the allies
of its main competitors," said Kristina
A. Stinson, a plant population biologist at
the Harvard Forest, Harvard's ecology and
conservation center in Petersham, Mass. "By
killing off native soil fungi, the appearance
of this weed in an intact forest could stifle
the next generation of dominant canopy trees."
Along N. Alois St. in Milwaukee
The
study was conducted by researchers at Harvard
University, the University of Guelph, the University
of Montana, Purdue University, and the UFZ Centre
for Environmental Research in Germany.
Uh-oh:
the march of the garlic mustard picks up speed
May
1, 2006 -- Garlic mustard, a damaging
invasive species, is spreading rapidly throughout
the neighborhood and the west side of Milwaukee.
It
was generally confined last year to limited
areas of Mitchell Blvd. Park and all of Bluff
Park. This year, however, it has spread much
further in Mitchell Blvd. Park and has taken
root in many neighborhood lawns. It also has
completely overtaken the bluff in Doyne Park.
The
State Department of Natural Resources considers
garlic mustard a "major
threat" to state plants and
the wildlife who depend on those plants.
Garlic
mustard crowds out other species and takes over
entire areas in a very short time.
Daffodils
in Bluff Park are completely surrounded by garlic
mustard.
The evil weed also is making big dvances in
Mitchell Blvd. Park.
The
hill in Doyne Park is completely overrun
The US 41 right-of-way, north of W. State St.
Part of the invasives problem stems from the
Wisconsin Department of Transportation's decision
to stop trying to control invasives on its property.
The weeds are allowed to spread, damaging property,
neighborhoods, and the overall environment.
