Mechanical Harvesting Effectively Controls Young Typha spp. Invasion and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Data Enhances Post-treatment Monitoring

Lishawa, Shane C.; Carson, Brendan D.; Brandt, Jodi S.; Tallant, Jason; Reo, Nicholas J.; Albert, Dennis A.; Monks, Andrew M.; Lautenbach, Joseph M.; Clark, Eric

doi:10.3389/fpls.2017.00619

Cited by 37 publications

(50 citation statements)

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“…(S. Keyport et al, unpublished manuscript). Similarly, Lishawa et al (2017) found that harvesting Typha spp. from a newly invaded GLCW increased the relative cover of co-occurring Carex spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…While biomass harvesting is commonly used to manage wetland habitats in Europe (Hansson and Fredriksson 2004), the practice has only recently been introduced to managers in North America. In northern Lake Huron, harvesting experiments conducted in Typha-dominated wetlands have shown a strong response from native plant species after a one-time harvest, with the regeneration of species that had been absent for years (Lishawa et al 2015(Lishawa et al , 2017. Ongoing longer-term (i.e., repeated annual harvests) and larger-scale experiments are currently investigating the effect invasive plant harvesting has on fish, macroinvertebrate, amphibian, and bird biodiversity, as well as its impact on wetland nutrient dynamics and carbon cycling.…”

Section: Invasive Plant Harvesting To Promote Multiple Ecosystem Servmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, Hall and Zedler , Lishawa et al. , ), and potentially providing revenue to offset restoration costs (Fig. ; Nackley et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Harvesting invasive plants to reduce nutrient loads and produce bioenergy: an assessment of Great Lakes coastal wetlands

et al. 2018

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In Laurentian Great Lakes coastal wetlands (GLCWs), dominant emergent invasive plants are expanding their ranges and compromising the unique habitat and ecosystem service values that these ecosystems provide. Herbiciding and burning to control invasive plants have not been effective in part because neither strategy addresses the most common root cause of invasion, nutrient enrichment. Mechanical harvesting is an alternative approach that removes tissue‐bound phosphorus and nitrogen and can increase wetland plant diversity and aquatic connectivity between wetland and lacustrine systems. In this study, we used data from three years of Great Lakes‐wide wetland plant surveys, published literature, and bioenergy analyses to quantify the overall areal extent of GLCWs, the extent and biomass of the three most dominant invasive plants, the pools of nitrogen and phosphorus contained within their biomass, and the potential for harvesting this biomass to remediate nutrient runoff and produce renewable energy. Of the approximately 212,000 ha of GLCWs, three invasive plants (invasive cattail, common reed, and reed canary grass) dominated 76,825 ha (36%). The coastal wetlands of Lake Ontario exhibited the highest proportion of invasive dominance (57%) of any of the Great Lakes, primarily from cattail. A single growing season's biomass of these invasive plants across all GLCWs was estimated at 659,545 metric tons: 163,228 metric tons of reed canary grass, 270,474 metric tons of common reed, and 225,843 metric tons of invasive cattail, and estimated to contain 10,805 and 1144 metric tons of nitrogen and phosphorus, respectively. A one‐time harvest and utilization for energy of this biomass would provide the gross equivalent of 1.8 million barrels of oil if combusted, or 0.9 million barrels of oil if converted to biogas in an anaerobic digester. We discuss the potential for mitigating non‐point source nutrient pollution with invasive wetland plant removal, and other potential uses for the harvested biomass, including compost and direct application to agricultural soils. Finally, we describe the research and adaptive management program we have built around this concept, and point to current limitations to the implementation of large‐scale invasive plant harvesting.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Invasive Plant Harvesting To Promote Multiple Ecosystem Servmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Harvesting invasive plants to reduce nutrient loads and produce bioenergy: an assessment of Great Lakes coastal wetlands

et al. 2018

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“…Results of indicator species analysis of plant data by wetland zone in 2013, 2 years following treatment stand ages and water levels (Lishawa et al, 2017(Lishawa et al, , 2015. In contrast, we found that a one-time, mowing treatment without associated biomass removal reduced Typha dominance in the flooded emergent marsh but was ineffective at increasing plant diversity.…”

Section: Ta B L Ementioning

confidence: 64%

“…Our study demonstrates that invasive Typha removal treatments TA B L E 3 Results of indicator species analysis of plant data by wetland zone in 2013, 2 years following treatment stand ages and water levels (Lishawa et al, 2017(Lishawa et al, , 2015. In contrast,…”

Section: Implications For Managementmentioning

confidence: 84%

Invasive species removal increases species and phylogenetic diversity of wetland plant communities

Lishawa

Lawrence

Albert

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Plant invasions result in biodiversity losses and altered ecological functions, though quantifying loss of multiple ecosystem functions presents a research challenge. Plant phylogenetic diversity correlates with a range of ecosystem functions and can be used as a proxy for ecosystem multifunctionality. Laurentian Great Lakes coastal wetlands are ideal systems for testing invasive species management effects because they support diverse biological communities, provide numerous ecosystem services, and are increasingly dominated by invasive macrophytes. Invasive cattails are among the most widespread and abundant of these taxa. We conducted a three‐year study in two Great Lakes wetlands, testing the effects of a gradient of cattail removal intensities (mowing, harvest, complete biomass removal) within two vegetation zones (emergent marsh and wet meadow) on plant taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity. To evaluate native plant recovery potential, we paired this with a seed bank emergence study that quantified diversity metrics in each zone under experimentally manipulated hydroperiods. Pretreatment, we found that wetland zones had distinct plant community composition. Wet meadow seed banks had greater taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity than emergent marsh seed banks, and high‐water treatments tended to inhibit diversity by reducing germination. Aboveground harvesting of cattails and their litter increased phylogenetic diversity and species richness in both zones, more than doubling richness compared to unmanipulated controls. In the wet meadow, harvesting shifted the community toward an early successional state, favoring seed bank germination from early seral species, whereas emergent marsh complete removal treatments shifted the community toward an aquatic condition, favoring floating‐leaved plants. Removing cattails and their litter increased taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity across water levels, a key environmental gradient, thereby potentially increasing the multifunctionality of these ecosystems. Killing invasive wetland macrophytes but leaving their biomass in situ does not address their underlying mechanism of dominance and is less effective than more intensive treatments that also remove their litter.

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Wetland Waterbird Food Resources Increased by Harvesting Invasive Cattails

et al. 2020

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The conservation of many freshwater marsh waterbirds (i.e., waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, and secretive marshbirds) in the Laurentian Great Lakes requires managing invasive emergent macrophytes, which degrade waterbird habitat by creating dense, litter‐clogged stands, and excluding plants that produce nutritionally balanced and high‐energy food (seeds, tubers, and submerged aquatic vegetation). The most commonly used management approach in the United States Great Lakes region involves the application of herbicides, which can stimulate waterbird forage plants but does not address the accumulation of plant litter, the underlying cause of plant community diversity loss and habitat degradation. We experimentally evaluated the effects of an alternative approach, harvesting invasive plants and their litter followed by flooding, on plant communities, focusing on the effects of these treatments to increase the abundance of high‐energy wetland plants. At the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge in Michigan, USA, we experimentally treated an invasive cattail (Typha × glauca)‐dominated wetland in August and September of 2016, 2017, and 2018, using a randomized block design with 4 blocks and 3 treatments (sediment surface harvest, above ground harvest, and control). We monitored the effects of these treatments on the abundance and dominance of waterbird forage‐producing plants, plant diversity, and plant communities prior to (Jul 2016) and during the summer following each treatment (late Jul or early Aug 2017, 2018, and 2019). Additionally, we used pre‐ and post‐treatment waterbird use‐day data collected at the unit scale and compared values with satellite imagery‐derived land cover changes. Compared to control plots, 3 years of harvesting and flooding significantly increased plant species diversity, increased the abundance of waterbird seed‐ and tuber‐producing plant species by 5 times, and increased annual plant dominance by more than 10 times, while substantially reducing all measures of cattail and its litter. Use‐days increased for total waterbirds, including waterfowl and dabbling ducks, following treatment. Cattail cover decreased and open water and non‐cattail emergent vegetation cover increased. Harvesting invasive plant biomass coupled with flooding promoted a plant community composition and structure beneficial to waterbirds. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

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Mechanical Harvesting Effectively Controls Young Typha spp. Invasion and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Data Enhances Post-treatment Monitoring

Cited by 37 publications

References 54 publications

Harvesting invasive plants to reduce nutrient loads and produce bioenergy: an assessment of Great Lakes coastal wetlands

Harvesting invasive plants to reduce nutrient loads and produce bioenergy: an assessment of Great Lakes coastal wetlands

Invasive species removal increases species and phylogenetic diversity of wetland plant communities

Wetland Waterbird Food Resources Increased by Harvesting Invasive Cattails

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