Greenzone Online

 

Everyone loves Spring. Flowers are blooming, making for great nature hikes and beautiful scenery.  Unfortunately, a lot of the flowers in bloom are actually invasive plant species, which have virtually extinguished native wildflowers from some areas.

We’ve heard of butterfly colonies having to move farther up in altitude and latitude to live because of the warming temperatures, and warm-water sea creatures are moving toward waters that once were too cold for them to thrive. All of these movements alter ecosystems. Trophic levels change, prey animals have to adapt to new predators, predators have to get used to different prey. None of these things happen overnight and species are becoming endangered because of altered habitats.

These changes aren’t limited to animals. Plants are feeling the heat (pardon the pun) just as much. Native plants are being dominated by new plants which are spreading to areas that better fit their needs. Birds help in dispersion and pollination of plants and as migration patterns change and bird habitats change, all the seeds the birds are eating are moving where they are, causing plants to grow where they once did not. Restoration ecology is becoming a popular field of study now because of this climate change effect.

Yes, these plants are pretty. Yes, it might be nice having more animals in some areas where they didn’t used to be. The fact is, however, that we need to look past this deceptive exterior and realize the cause of it isn’t so pretty.

Fun fact time! The top five worst invasive species worldwide, considering their impact on native ecology are:

5. Feral Pigs
4. Rats (native to India)
3. Zebra Mussels
2. Cane Toad
1. European Rabbit (yes, little bunny rabbits are blamed for their part in the extinction of almost an eighth of mammal species in Australia.)

You can read more about this list here
Read about the top five worst invasive plant species here