Where does invasive vegetation management fit in with ecosystem restoration solutions?

With time and repeated disturbance, ecosystems across Vermont and the Northeast have changed drastically in the past few centuries. Forests have been clear-cut, rivers have been straightened, predators have been extirpated or driven out of the landscape, and nothing looks anything like it did in the pre-colonial era. More importantly, these disturbances are often followed by years or decades of neglect and poor land stewardship, allowing time for the disturbed ecosystems to grow back into something wholly new, foreign, and jarring for anyone with fond thoughts of sugar maples and towering white pines. 

In 2017 we began efforts to provide restoration solutions on a 100+ acre block of land in South Burlington, encompassing a variety of forest and wetland communities and habitat types. Composed primarily of fallow agricultural land, the site had been neglected for years, and it showed. Ecosystems were stripped of critical plants and animals as the land all around was developed and fragmented. The Champlain Valley’s full suite of woody invasive plants, including common and glossy buckthorn, Asiatic bittersweet, honeysuckle, and Japanese barberry dominated the forest understory and threatened to overtake the wetlands. Without management, stands of white pine trees had grown up so close together that they all struggled for access to light and resources, leaving huge numbers of unhealthy trees with little value.

In situations like these, it can be hard to know where to start coming up with restoration solutions. With limited time and resources, do you start with invasive vegetation management or forest stand improvement practices? Do you plant native trees and reintroduce native fauna or restore hydrological processes? At Riverscape Ecology, we head into every job with these questions on our mind in order to craft the best possible restoration solutions for the land at hand. 

We decided that the best course of action was to embark on an ambitious invasive vegetation management campaign, and this decision was supported by a management plan tied to the Act 250 permit. Invasive plants are easily the most fast-growing ecological problem here and we wanted to stop the invasion in its tracks. It’s unlikely that the invasive plants at this site will ever be extirpated completely, but knocking them back will provide an opportunity for the ecosystem to respond with native regeneration and buy some time to begin further restoration practices. 

Since 2017, we have covered the majority of the property with invasive vegetation management practices, employing various techniques of chemical and mechanical control as the situation dictates. Plants, and particularly invasive plants without the interspecies connections and relationships that would keep them in check in their native range, have a way of adapting and fighting back. This site has multiple generations of buckthorn and honeysuckle above ground, and that doesn’t even take into consideration what’s waiting below the surface. Seeds can live dormant in the soil or leaf litter for years, waiting for the perfect time to germinate and finally find the sun. Any successful invasive vegetation management plan has to take the long-term trajectory of the ecosystem into consideration when crafting restoration solutions. 

As we expected, we’ve had setbacks and disappointments but the overall effort has been a success. We’ve treated most of the invasive plants that were above ground, allowing sunlight to reach the forest floor and encourage the underground seed bank to express itself. This means that the mature, seed-producing invasive trees which perpetuate the problem have been taken care of, and there is a much lower chance of new seeds finding their way to the forest floor. Many seeds and seedlings, both native and exotic, have taken advantage of the new conditions and sent up vigorous new growth, ushering in a new generation for this forest understory. 

This year, we hope to begin a range of new restoration practices, including mast tree release, stand thinning, and other forest stand improvement techniques. With the invasive problem under control, we feel confident that we can bring value back to this landscape for humans, plants, and wildlife alike. Stay tuned to hear about our continued management at this site, and contact us to find out how we can help you achieve your land stewardship and resource management goals!