Are Invasive Species Friends or Foes?

As you look around throughout America you will see many different species of plants. When you look at these plants it may be very hard to recognize which plants are native to the region and which ones are alien plants. Alien plants are basically plants that are not originally from the area where they are now present. Whether they were introduced to the area intentionally or unintentionally is irrelevant, because either way the species has been cultivated into a new region. While many species of alien plants are commonly known and are economically essential there are also some known as, invasive alien plants which are the plants that have escaped the cultivation area and cause agricultural problems by altering the ecosystem process (Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation). Two examples of invasive alien plants are kudzu and eucalyptus.

Kudzu is a climbing vine that was first introduced to America in 1876 during the Centennial Exposition that took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the celebration that celebrated Americas one hundredth birthday Japan contributed a large garden exhibit filled with their native plants. One of the most popular plants in this exhibit was kudzu which quickly captured the imagination of the gardeners. The United States government found that kudzu was also a wonderful tool to use in preventing soil erosion and until 1953 advocated for the use of it, even offering eight dollars an acre at one point to farmers who planted kudzu instead of other crops (The University of Alabama Center for Public Television & Radio). However as kudzu became more invasive and began to harm the ecosystem by preventing trees and other plants from getting the sunshine they needed by growing so fast and over everything, even up trees and telephone poles the US government began to realize they were causing more home then good. And then in 1972 after eighteen years of research and discovering that there was no real way to control kudzu and that in fact one type of herbicide actually made it grow better the USDA declared that kudzu is a weed (The University of Alabama Center for Public Television & Radio).

Eucalyptus trees are fast growing very durable trees that originate from Australia. There are some questions as to who the first person to cultivate Eucalyptus to America as so many are willing to take the credit for introducing this valuable to tree, especially in California. From 1905 to 1912 there was a Eucalyptus boom in California because while that area was almost barren they discovered that not only was Eucalyptus a fast growing tree that would provide the shade and lumber they so desperately needed but it also provided other valuable resources. Eucalyptus trees have been proven to provide fuel and work as windbreaks as well as contribute to medicine, provide nectar to bees, pulp for paper and chemicals for boilers (Santos, 1997). When a Eucalyptus is burned by a brush fire the tree will sprout new leaves, if the existing branches have all died special buds will grow all over the trunk of the tree. And if the whole tree has been burned then the regrowth will start at the ground. Eucalyptus begins the regrowth process as soon as danger has passed. While Eucalyptus is considered an invasive plant because of the ease of which it is grown in this alien region it is considered a positive addition to California's natural resources. Without the introduction of Eucalyptus California may well have been a totally different state because it would have lacked all the positive contributions that Eucalyptus made during its growth and development.

Whether the cultivation of a plant to a new region is intentional or unintentional you will not be able to judge the true value of the new species until it has been cultivated. Who would have thought when gardeners began using kudzu from Japan that it would one day try to overrun everything in its path and eventually go from being a valued resource to being classified as a weed? And if not for the introduction of Eucalyptus trees in California how would that state have fared during its early years? Would it have developed into the state it is today or would it have remained the barren land that it was first known as? So while some invasive species can be detrimental to the ecosystems others can be essential to it, therefore do we have any choice other than to take our chances and hope that our choices are environmentally sound ones?

References

Santos, R. L. (1997). The Eucalyptus of California. Retrieved August 23, 2009, from The Eucalyptus of California: http://wwwlibrary.csustan.edu/bsantos/section1.htm

The University of Alabama Center for Public Television & Radio. (n.d.). The Amazing Story of Kudzu. Retrieved August 22, 2009, from The Amazing Story of Kudzu: http://www.maxshores.com/kudzu/

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. (2006). Natural Heritage. Retrieved August 22, 2009, from Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/invspinfo.shtml