List of invasive plant species in the Indiana Dunes
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The Indiana Dunes is an area of land beside Lake Michigan, in the State of Indiana, United States. It includes Indiana Dunes National Park and Indiana Dunes State Park. Non-native plant species, specifically invasive species, have colonized that area. Invasive plants are those plants that aggressively spread throughout an area and out-compete other plant species, normally those that are native to the area.
Negative impacts
[edit]Invasive plant species in the Indiana Dunes have several negative impacts. They may:
- Displace the variety of flowering plants, substituting a monoculture
- Grow densely around trails, roads, and water, making travel difficult or impossible
- Introduce toxins into the environment
- Have unpleasant spines or thorns
- Smother ponds, killing fish
Specific examples include:
- Purple loosestrife – establishes a monoculture, reducing the variety of wildlife.[1]
- Bush honeysuckles – prevents regeneration of woody plants and herbs, reducing bird habitat.[1]
- Glossy buckthorn – prevents regeneration of woody plants, slowly destroying forests.[1]
- Garlic mustard – alters the chemistry of the soil to kill other seeds, creating a monoculture.[1]
- Asian bittersweet – this vine can kill or damage trees and shrubs.[1]
- Crown vetch – alters the soil chemistry and pushes out the variety of other plants.[1]
- Japanese knotweed – tolerates floods and drought, creates a monoculture.[1]
- Spotted knapweed – releases toxins into the soil to poison its competition.[1]
- Common reed – this introduced non-native species aggressively pushes the native species and other aquatic plants out of the ecosystem.[1]
- Canada thistle – out-competes native vegetation in prairies, savannas, and dunes.[1]
Species established within the Dunes
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Current threats [1]
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Emerging threats to natural resources or extent unknown[1]
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