Common Reed Phragmites australis

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Common Reed (Phragmites australis)

• Origin Human influenced native
• Typical Habitat disturbed areas wetlands
• Means of spread rhizome
• Flowering time July - September

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Common Reed (Phragmites australis)
Photos by Virginia McDaniel
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Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum)

• Origin Asia
• Typical Habitat moist, open areas disturbed
  areas
• Means of spread rhizome fragments
• Flowering time August - September

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Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum)
Photo by Virginia McDaniel
Photo from http//tncweeds.ucdavis.edu
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Mile-a-minute (Polygonum perfoliatum)

• Origin Japan
• Typical Habitat disturbed, sunny, moist areas
• Means of spread bird rodent
• Flowering time August - October

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Mile-a-minute (Polygonum perfoliatum)
Photo by Virginia McDaniel
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Lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria)

• Origin Europe
• Typical Habitat moist forested floodplains
• Means of spread rhizome
• Flowering time March - Early May

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Lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria)
Photo from http//tncweeds.ucdavis.edu
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Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora)

• Origin Asia
• Typical Habitat pastures disturbed areas
• Means of spread bird
• Flowering time May - June

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Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora)
Photo by R. Harrison Weigand
Photo by Virginia McDaniel
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Equipment for the field

• compass
• notebook
• report forms
• map
• flagging tape
• sharpies

• plenty of water
• food
• hat/sunscreen
• wildflower guide
• camera and film (optional)
• pencils

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Safety reminders

• Dont be a disperser!
• Encounters
• Do not confront people on the preserves who may
  be engaging in inappropriate activities
• Into the woods
• bring a friend along
• cell phone
• first aid kit and water
• beware of ticks!

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Method of Monitoring

• Know your site
• practice navigation and familiarization before
  you start looking for weeds
• Start looking for weeds
• Know whats in bloom (Calendar of Plant Events)
• Record your visit- even if you find no hits

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Know your site!

• Dont worry about the invasives
• Spend several days walking around
• Understand the topography

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Look for Hit List Species

• Think habitat (wet areas, open areas,
  disturbance)
• Keep your eyes peeled and look for small
  infestations
• Stop and smell the flowers

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A Hit List Species is Found!
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• WEED WATCHERS HIT REPORT
• Site__________________________ Date____________
• Weed Watcher(s) _________________________________
  ____
• 1. Species found
• 2. SCOUT AROUND!! (25 meters) ____
• 3. Is occurrence a discrete patch? Yes No
• If yes, approximate size of occurrence (l X w)
  _______________
• 4. Estimate number of individuals
• _____1-100 _____100-500 _____500-1000
  _____1000
• 5. Is it in flower? Yes No
• fruit? Yes No
• 6. Is there any evidence of herbivory? Yes
  No
• disease? Yes No Explain
• 7. Did you remove any plants? Yes No
• If so, how many? ____ Did you leave any plant
  material on the ground? ______
• 8a. Primary tree tagged_____ 8b. Secondary tree?
  _______
• Species ________________ Species
  _________________
• DBH ________________ DBH
  _________________
• Bearing to patch __________

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• 9. Mark the occurrence and any additional marker
  trees on a topographic map ATTACH.
• 10. Describe the habitat where occurrence is
  found
• Vegetation cover Moisture content
• ____Closed canopy ____mesic
• ____Shrubby/Open understory ____dry
• ____Dense herbaceous cover
• ____Open area
• ____Bare ground
• 11. Describe and draw a sketch of the location
  and pattern of species' distribution.
• Include topographic features (slopes, rivers,
  flat areas, etc.) trees marked open areas etc.
  

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Check your flow chart

• Is it garlic mustard, mile-a-minute or
  microstegium?
• pull these only if you are certain of
  identification
• if not, send us a sample in a sealed bag or just
  report it

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• HIT LIST SPECIES FOUND
• SCOUT AROUND!!
• about 25 meters around the
• area to see the size of the patch
• Complete Hit Report and mark the
• occurrence so it can be relocated.
• Yes Is it Garlic Mustard or
  Mile-a-Minute No
• Is it a small patch? (ie you can remove
  Send in report TNC
• it within 20-30 minutes) staff must
  take lead
• Yes No on management
• Do you have any Send in report
• doubt about your ID? Request additional
• volunteer/staff support
• Yes No
• Are fruits present?
• Collect specimen and

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Mark the location

• Mark the hit list species in the field
• flag a nearby tree and write the hit list species
  and date on the flag tape
• if location will be hard to find again, tag
  another prominent tree nearby
• write hit list species, date, distance and
  compass reading from tree to infestation on tape

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Getting a bearing

• 1. Point direction of travel arrow at the
  landmark.
• 2. Turn the housing until red is in the shed.
• 3. Read the number on the rim of the compass
  housing. That is the bearing.

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Declination

• The geology of North America affects the
  magnetic needle of the compass. Therefore
  magnetic north and true north differ. The
  difference is called declination.

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When NOT to worry about declination

• Distances less than 100 meters
• For example
• You mark a hit in the field. A more prominent
  feature is located 25 meters from the patch.
  You take a bearing from the tree to the patch.
  DO NOT, for consistency, account for declination.
  

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When to use declination

• When you are using a compass to go long distances
• For example
• You are standing at the property boundary of a
  preserve. You want to find a previous hit that is
  at least 100 meters into the preserve at a
  specific bearing.

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Getting from place to place

• 1. Orient your map - turn the north part
• of your map to the north.
• 2. Determine where you want to go
• 3. Turn compass and line up where you
• are and where you want to go with
• the edge of the compass.
• 4. Put red in the shed
• 5. Add 9 (for declination in Maryland)
• 6. Once in the field, keep red in the shed
• and walk toward your destination

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Topographic Maps

• Topo maps are the best way to get around in the
  field. It is a somewhat abstract concept to
  grasp, and will take much trial and error in the
  field to get a feel for how surface topography
  relates to what is on the map.

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Color features

• BLACK - person-made or cultural features
• BLUE - water and hydrologic features
• GREEN - vegetation features
• BROWN - elevation features

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Contour lines

• Contour lines represent elevation changes.
• Contour lines connect points of the same
  elevation
• Every fifth line is the index contour line which
  tells you the elevation above sea level.
• When contour lines are close together the slope
  is very steep
• When they are spread out the slope is gentle.
• In a drainage area, the V or U shape the contour
  lines make always point up slope.

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Contour lines

• Contour lines represent elevation changes.
• Every fifth line is the index contour line which
  tells you the elevation above sea level.
• When contour lines are close together the slope
  is very steep.
• When they are spread out the slope is gentle.
• In a drainage area, the V or U shape the contour
  lines make always point upstream.

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Record your visit

• Always fill out a Visit Report, whether or not
  you found invasives.
• Record the area traversed

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Visits per Year

• Please visit 3-5 times per year
• this ensures that you will see each species when
  it is most easily identified
• flowering
• fruiting

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What happens after you send in your reports?
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Prioritization of Infestations

• Once we receive Weed Watcher reports, we follow a
  method of management prioritization developed
  by...
• The Nature Conservancys Wildland Invasive
  Species Program (WISP)
• http//tncweeds.ucdavis.edu

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Our prioritization guidelinesbased on WISPs
Weed Management Plan template

• What is the current extent of the species on or
  near the site?
• What are the current and potential impacts of the
  species?
• What is the value of the habitats/areas that the
  species infests or may infest?
• How difficult is the infestation to control?

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The Weed Busters

• The goal of the Weed Busters is to implement weed
  management/control plans on Weed Watcher/Buster
  sites.
• Once infestations are
• 1) found by the Weed Watchers, and
• 2) identified as high priority for management,
  the Weed Busters attack!

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Who are the Weed Busters?

• Anyone can be a Weed Buster!
• Volunteers sign up for Weed Buster workdays
  advertised in our volunteer newsletter, The
  Oracle
• On-call volunteers join an email listserve and
  are notified of weed control workdays which are
  scheduled with little notice.

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The results...
We began to manage many infestations...
on the land we protect!
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What have we accomplished so far?

• Since the summer of 2001, Weed Watchers and Weed
  Busters located AND began to control 19 different
  invasive, exotic species infestations on 5 TNC
  preserves in Maryland.

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Learn more on your own!

• Websites
• TNC WISP
• http//tncweeds.ucdavis.edu
• National Plants Database
• http//plants.usda.gov
• Department of Agriculture http//invasivespecies.g
  ov
• University of Montanas INVADERS Database
• http//invader.dbs.umt.edu
• Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants
• http//plants.ifas.ufl.edu

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Information Sources Mid-Atlantic

• Websites
• Virginia Natural Heritage Program
• http//www.dcr.state.va.us/dnh/invlist.htm
• Maryland Native Plants Society
• http//www.mdflora.org

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Information Sources Organizations

• Maryland Invasive Species Council
• email TichenRH_at_mda.state.md.us to learn more
• Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council
• send blank email to ma-eppc-subscribe
  _at_yahoogroups.com to join listserve
• TNCs Invasive Species Listserve Digest
• email Barry Meyers-Rice with name
  state/country at bamrice_at_ucdavis.edu

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Remember...

• Weed management requires ongoing
• reevaluations and adjustments.
• Shifting priorities will alter management
  objectives.
• Learn which methods are most effective through
  trial and error.
• Species may be added or subtracted from the hit
  list.

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Your monitoring produces tangible results!
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Questions anyone?

• Contact us at the Maryland/District of
• Columbia Chapter of the Nature Conservancy
• 5410 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 100
• Bethesda, Maryland 20814
• [phone]
• or email
• Meredith Malone at mmalone_at_tnc.org or Deborah
  Barber at dbarber_at_tnc.org