Pretty Plants In The Garden Become Weeds In The Field

Extension weed scientists have long used the phrase “a weed is any plant out of place” to describe those plants that show up unwanted in farmers’ fields. The straightforward definition covers everything from the dreaded pigweed species to “good plants gone bad” like volunteer corn and sunflowers, and now, invasive weed species tied to the ornamental plant trade.

The latter are on the move across the U.S., with researchers most concerned about outbreaks and hotspots they have identified recently in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern U.S. states. 

The states researchers say are most impacted to date include Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, according to the Northeast Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (RISCC) Network.

The USDA defines an invasive weed as one “that’s non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and whose introduction is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.”

Weed-Control Headache Waiting To Happen?

Researchers Justin D. Salva and Bethany A. Bradley reported on impact assessments they did on 104 plants in those states that are most likely to expand their territory.

“Among them, 32 are high-impact species associated with negative impacts on ecological communities or multiple native species, and many are also associated with socio-economic impacts,” the researchers said. 

Their findings were highlighted in the most recent issue of Invasive Plant Science and Management, an online publication of the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA).

“The new research helps to prioritize which range-shifting invasive species to target in the region for proactive prevention and management,” says Bradley, a professor in the department of environmental conservation at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst.  

The research points to climate change as one of the culprits contributing to the increased number and movement of invasive weed species, according to the WSSA.

A list of high-impact invasive weed species is available in the article, High-impact invasive plants expanding into Mid-Atlantic states – Identifying priority range-shifting species for monitoring in light of climate change Identifying Priority Invaders.

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