Purpose Statement. This research compares the percent coverage of five invasive plant species at two sample locations in Allegany County, MD.

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1 Invasive Plants

2 Purpose Statement This research compares the percent coverage of five invasive plant species at two sample locations in Allegany County, MD.

3 Hypothesis The class hypothesized that five specific invasive plant species in Allegany County, MD will increase when the area is highly disturbed by human action.

4 The FSU Arboretum History of high disturbance Was used for farming Was a passageway for settlers Was used for strip mining and deep mining

5 Dan s Mountain State Park Minimally disturbed Named after Daniel Cresap Early settlers were farmers and coal miners Is now used as a state park

6 Equipment Used Survey Flags Surveyor tape measures Meter sticks Yarn Datasheets Clipboards

7 Methods We recorded our data on spreadsheets that contained a grid with 16 squares Each square that we placed in the grid was one meter in length. We scanned our grid to see if our particular plant was in the grid. If we saw our invasive plant, we marked it with the letter X. If our plant was not in a square, we left the square blank and moved on to the next square.

8 Methods We made ratios with our data by putting the number of X s present on one of the charts over was the number of boxes on each chart A percentage was then developed from that ratio

9 Example Ratio: 4: * 100 Percentage: 25% Ratio: 13: * 100 Percentage: 81.25%

10 Garlic Mustard Scientific Name: Alliaria petiolata Is native to Europe Was introduced for food and medical purposes Takes moisture and nutrients from its environment

11 Data on Alliaria petiolata Alliaria peticola-fsu Arboretum Alliaria peticola-dan's Mountain % invasive species %coverage % invasive species %coverage site # SITE#

12 Japanese Knotweed Scientific Name: Fallopia japonica Is native to Eastern Asia Was introduced for landscaping purposes Colonizes its area easily

13 Data on Fallopia japonica Fallopian japonica-fsu Arboretum Fallopian Japonica Dan's Mountain %Invasive species coverage Site# Series1 %Invasive species coverage Site# Coverage

14 Common Daylily Scientific Name: Hemerocallis fulva Is native to Europe Was introduced for landscaping Infests natural areas

15 Data on the Hemerocallis fulva Hemerocallis fulva FSU Arboretum Hemerocallis fulva- Dan's Mountain State Park % invasive species coverage Site # Series1 % invasive species coverage Site # Series1

16 Bush Honeysuckle Scientific Name: Lonicera species Is native to Japan, China, Korea, Manchuria, Turkey and Southern Russia Was introduced for erosion control Competes for pollinators and natural resources

17 Data on Lonicera species Lonicera species- FSU Arboretum Lonicera species- Dan's Mountain Percent Coverage Site Number % Coverage Percent Coverage Site # % Coverage

18 Multiflora Rose Scientific Name: Rosa multiflora Is native to Japan, Korea & eastern China Was introduced for decoration & erosion control Reduces light availability

19 Data on Rosa multiflora 70 Rosa multiflora- FSU Arboretum Rosa Multiflora- Dan's Mountain State Park % Invasive Species Coverage Series1 % Invasive Species Coverage % Coverage Site # Site #

20 % of invasive plants Total Results Total Percentage for all Five Invasive Plant Species at Both Test Locations Sample sites FSU Arboretum Dan's Mountain This graph shows that there is more evidence of invasive plant species at FSU Arboretum in the 3 sample sites than at Dan s Mountain State Park.

21 Conclusion and Discussion Our group accepts that our hypothesis is correct: the percentage of five invasive plant species in Allegany County will increase when the area is highly impacted by human disturbance

22 Limitations of Our Study More sample sites and have more test locations. Larger sample sites More time

23 Questions These are some questions that the 9 th Grade Researchers of RMSC had after doing the Invasive Plant Project What would the world be like without invasive plant species? Is there a fine if someone is caught planting an invasive species? Where there any invasive species in the area that we didn t cover?