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Hi Randy & All, Oct 25, 2010
The properties of Purple Loosestrife were discussed at some length on naturens several years ago and, as I recall, it is a good example of a plant with positive properties that has been smeared by prejudice (non-native = bad) and faulty thinking.
The seeds float and are thus readily carried downslope by flowing water so, given a stand upslope, it can rapidly become established along the bare earth of runoff channels such as recently graded highway ditches and in low areas to which this runoff flows.
The stand of plants that subsequently develops not only decreases soil erosion, thereby decreasing siltation of inland waterways, it also moderates the extreme fluctuation in runoff rates over time that is characteristic of bare earth and slows the march of solutes to the ocean [any fairly large plant would be just as good but being a pioneer it may get there first].
So unless one is for some reason a fan of soil loss, silt choked streams/lakes and flash floods all of these effects are positive.
And some cohort of organisms must make use of the carbon fixed by PL; another positive. Why waste sunlight ? I have not read it in context but one quote from William Blake may be applicable here "...everything that lives is holy, life delights in life."
Something carries these seeds upslope, presumably birds. Shortly after I joined Naturens I came across two small stands (~1-2 metres across) south of Kentville. After a few years they were overwhelmed by Blackberries, Roses, Juncus etc.
Pretending that some usefull plant such as PL is a menace may make some people feel good but they should reflect that the genuine menace is the set of human activities that prepares the seedbed; urban sprawl, roads to nowhere, superhighways and the mindless pursuit of the horizon.
As Pogo observed some 55 years ago, "I have seen the enemy and he is us."
Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
----- Original Message -----
From: Randy Lauff
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Sent: Monday, October 25, 2010 9:31 AM
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] White list of authorized plants
I think the point of a white list, as opposed to a banned list is relatively straight forward, actually.
I do take Marty's point that with huge shipments of goods, and also people who won't abide by rules, control may be difficult. I don't think anyone believes that a "toss in the towel" approach is correct either.
Assume for a moment that Purple Loosestrife was not here, and assume we did not know of its potential invasiveness. It would not have appeared on a banned list. Anyone could have imported it for sale as a garden plant, then boom, we'd have had a problem. If on the other hand we used the white list approach, Loosestrife would not have been on the list (I assume all species on the list undergo some sort of clearance to make it on the list), and Loosestrife would not have been allowed in to the country. Barring accidental import, we would not have had the problem. One can guffaw at this example as being trite, but I'm using it to illustrate a point.
The precautionary approach is being used to protect our environment. In other words, we are staving off problems that we don't know about, and those we do know about, instead of just the ones we do know about.
Randy
_________________________________
RF Lauff
Way in the boonies of
Antigonish County, NS.
On 24 October 2010 20:16, David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com> wrote:
Hello: Oct 24, 2010
This is not Apr 1, but I just heard about a move to replace the list of prohibited plants (for movement between Canada and USA) by a much longer list of allowed plants, so I wonder if this is an April 1 joke that has been held up nearly 7 months at the border.
If valid, then it sounds like an efficient way to generate inefficiency and and an efficient way to create unnecessary inconvenience and/or hardship.
I don't know what plants are on the prohibited list but it seems to me that a short list is more readily understood, enforced or questioned than a much longer list.
Thus we have no-fly lists as apposed to fly lists, lists of people who must report to local police weekly as opposed to lists of those who do not have to report, lists of insect pests for specific crops as opposed lists of insects that are not pests, etc.
I stand to be corrected by evidence based comments, but in my recollection any problem created by non-native vascular plants that have crossed the border by permit is miniscule (zero perhaps) compared to the problems created by non-vascular organisms that were brought to North America by accident, such as Dutch Elm Disease and Beech Canker.
Yours truly, David H. Webster, Kentville, N.S.
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<DIV><FONT size=2>Hi Randy & All,
Oct 25, 2010</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> The properties of Purple Loosestrife were
discussed at some length on naturens several years ago and, as I recall, it is a
good example of a plant with positive properties that has been smeared by
prejudice (non-native = bad) and faulty thinking.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> The seeds float and are thus readily
carried downslope by flowing water so, given a stand upslope, it can rapidly
become established along the bare earth of runoff channels such
as recently graded highway ditches and in low areas to which this
runoff flows. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> The stand of plants that subsequently
develops not only decreases soil erosion, thereby decreasing siltation of inland
waterways, it also moderates the extreme fluctuation in runoff rates over time
that is characteristic of bare earth and slows the march of solutes to the ocean
[any fairly large