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--089e08e4de7da5efd1056b7c2273 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Specism On Sat, May 5, 2018, 5:29 PM David, <dwebster@glinx.com> wrote: > Hi Nick & All, > Glossy Buckthorn IMHO is a positive for thinned woodland; thinned by > windfall, tree death or cutting. Provided seeds are present it becomes > established and grows rapidly and thus captures many mobile nutrients whi= ch > might otherwise be lost. It discourages the gross overstocking by Ash whi= ch > otherwise become a thicket of runts. Buckthorn, unless held up by other > shrubs typically grow lanky, flop over and die. The odd one survives the > floppy stage and generates a nurse canopy for real trees which typically > take longer to get established. My once Buckthorn thickets are now largel= y > Buckthorn fragments. > By arrangement I would be delighted to walk anyone interested through > some of the patches which remain. It spreads rapidly because [gasp] birds > mob these shrubs in season. But it does not "invade" small openings in th= e > canopy so is absent or very sparse in most of my woodlot. > > Frankly I think the notion that it is undesirable is founded upon > prejudice and nothing else. > > Yt, DW, Kentville > > ------ Original Message ------ > From: "Nick Hill" <fernhillns@gmail.com> > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > Sent: 5/5/2018 4:37:04 PM > Subject: Re: Re[2]: [NatureNS] Dog-strangling vine in Nova Scotia > > Calm...i lived in southeast Kentucky > We had kudzu vine that swallowed abandoned houses...crossex roads via > phone lines > Scary but before we call Jesus and Mary we notice it did not enter intact > woodland and was restricted to about 30m from the roaside. > We do have a couple of plants that are 9f concern because they do get int= o > fairly intact ecosystems. I'd put glossy buckthorn at the top of the list > and then in terms of potential for harm given reports from elsewhere, I'd > be concerned about the spread of garlic mustard. > > Glossy? It's naturalized now and is part of swamps and early forest > succession. It's not the end of the world...its green it's a laxative for > birds and it fits into a red maple alder tudspuck sedge swamp with no > apparent diversity or community function effects. > > Fight clearcutting and our inability to get any marine protected areas fo= r > the eastern shore because we don't want any impingement on rockweed harve= st > or oil and gas development. > > Great name! > > On Sat, May 5, 2018, 1:21 PM David, <dwebster@glinx.com> wrote: > >> Hi Dave P., Bev and all. >> What an unfortunate name to be saddled with. Just this side of >> 'wanted dead or alive'. I wish to add to Bev's comments about the >> abundance of 'invasives'. >> As a general rule of thumb animals and plants eventually generate >> conditions which threaten their well being/survival. And those which >> prevail may do so by "invading" fresh territory which is not loaded with >> diseases or parasites. >> Consequently, if something is threatened the best recovery remedy ma= y >> be to move a starter kit of it elsewhere. Before lighting long distance >> flame throwers think about this in general terms. What is the better >> choice 1) act to preserve a flora and fauna which is free of "invasive" >> species or 2) act to enable survival of species which may be endangered >> ? >> Yt, DW. Kentville >> >> ------ Original Message ------ >> From: "Bev Wigney" <bkwigney@gmail.com> >> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca >> Sent: 5/5/2018 9:35:44 AM >> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Dog-strangling vine in Nova Scotia >> >> >Bad news if Dog-strangling vine (DSV) is here as it is quite a scourge >> >in eastern Ontario. Everyone struggles to keep it out of their gardens >> >and it grows rampant on vacant properties or even in woodlands. I was >> >in Ontario all last summer and went for walks in several places around >> >Ottawa and found it growing profusely everywhere. Fred Schueler may >> >comment on the prevalence there and perhaps here as well. Another up >> >and comer I saw there spreading out from what might have been its >> >Ground Zero in an abandoned industrial park was Tartarian Maple. >> >*sigh* >> > >> >As for invasive plants, I haven't found that there is much concern >> >over them here in NS although maybe there is a department that records >> >such things. I did try to find out about this a few years ago after >> >taking note of an incredible acreage which was just covered with a >> >non-native vine -- Wisteria sinensis. I made mention of it here on >> >NatureNS at the time (summer 2013). It grows rampantly all over the >> >woods at this property, but also along the roadside and actually up >> >over the powerlines - smothering everything in its path. I've seen it >> >spreading out from there, but it seems that is not considered >> >problematic. At the time, I did some readng up on it and discovered >> >that just about everywhere, it is considered a serious invasive. >> >Reminds me of the Japanese Knotweed around here -- growing along Route >> >201 and in vacant land in Annapolis Royal. When I first moved here, a >> >neighbour offered to give me some roots of his "bamboo". He used to >> >chop it down and toss it into a ravine on his own property and now >> >it's growing down there. I see a lot of it around Bridgetown next to >> >the river too. It seems to be everywhere. However, I don't think >> >there is much concern. The truth is, here around Annapolis Royal, if >> >all of the particularly invasive, non-native plants (multiflora roses, >> >goutweed, tansy, knotweed, phragmites, wisteria, etc..) ever >> >disappeared overnight, their absence would leave something of a >> >wasteland. I suspect European and Asiatic plants probably outnumber >> >natives by about 2 to 1. I've found that to be the case with snails >> >and slugs and to some extent with insects as well, by the way. No >> >doubt, many of these plants came with the settlers and seem to have >> >done quite well over the centuries. Definitely has an impact on the >> >ecology of the area -- less native plant hosts for our native insects >> >-- and so on. >> > >> >Bev Wigney >> >Round Hill >> > >> >On 5/5/18, David Patriquin <David.Patriquin@dal.ca> wrote: >> >>So