Invasive Plants James Bess, Ce Corquia Corquia Chambers, Guy Ford, Donnell Green, Readeena Johnson, Quayvon Johnson, Gregory Parks, Allison Pettyjohn, Crystal Smith, Tavyen Williams-Jackson Teacher: Mrs. Zachritz T.C s: : Clara Booker, Brooke Stanley, Walter Williams
Purpose Statement This research compares the percent coverage of five invasive plant species at two sample locations in Allegany County, MD.
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.
The FSU Arboretum History of high disturbance Was used for farming Was a passageway for settlers Was used for strip mining and deep mining
Dan s s Mountain State Park Minimally disturbed Named after Daniel Cresap Early settlers were farmers and coal miners Is now used as a state park
Equipment Used Survey Flags Surveyor tape measures Meter sticks Yarn Datasheets Clipboards
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.
Methods We made ratios with our data by putting the number of X s s present on one of the charts over 16 16 was the number of boxes on each chart A percentage was then developed from that ratio
Example Ratio: 4:16 0.25 * 100 Percentage: 25% Ratio: 13:16.8125 * 100 Percentage: 81.25%
Garlic Mustard Scientific Name: Alliaria petiolata Is native to Europe Was introduced for food and medical purposes Takes moisture and nutrients from its environment
Data on Alliaria petiolata Alliaria peticola-fsu Arboretum Alliaria peticola-dan's Mountain 120 40 % invasive species 100 80 60 40 20 0 1 2 3 %coverage % invasive species 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 %coverage site # SITE#
Japanese Knotweed Scientific Name: Fallopia japonica Is native to Eastern Asia Was introduced for landscaping purposes Colonizes its area easily
Data on Fallopia japonica Fallopian japonica-fsu Arboretum Fallopian Japonica Dan's Mountain %Invasive species coverage 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 Site# Series1 %Invasive species coverage 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 1 2 3 Site# Coverage
Common Daylily Scientific Name: Hemerocallis fulva Is native to Europe Was introduced for landscaping Infests natural areas
Data on the Hemerocallis fulva Hemerocallis fulva FSU Arboretum Hemerocallis fulva- Dan's Mountain State Park % invasive species coverage 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 Site # Series1 % invasive species coverage 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 1 2 3 Site # Series1
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
Data on Lonicera species Lonicera species- FSU Arboretum Lonicera species- Dan's Mountain Percent Coverage 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 Site Number % Coverage Percent Coverage 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 1 2 3 Site # % Coverage
Multiflora Rose Scientific Name: Rosa multiflora Is native to Japan, Korea & eastern China Was introduced for decoration & erosion control Reduces light availability
Data on Rosa multiflora % Invasive Species Coverage 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Rosa multiflora- FSU Arboretum 1 2 3 Site # Series1 % Invasive Species Coverage Rosa Multiflora- Dan's Mountain State Park 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 1 2 3 Site # % Coverage
Total Results % of invasive plants 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Total Percentage for all Five Invasive Plant Species at Both Test Locations 1 2 3 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 s Mountain State Park.
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
Limitations of Our Study More sample sites and have more test locations. Larger sample sites More time
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 t cover?