Former Butler Professor, Director of Friesner Herbarium, and affiliate of the Center for Urban Ecology and Sustainability, Rebecca Dolan, along with ROW’s own Kelly Brown, have authored a newly-published study: “Five Year Response of Spontaneous Vegetation to Removal of Invasive Amur Bush Honeysuckle Along an Urban Creek.” Dolan and Brown’s work focused on three sites along Fall Creek between 36th and 30th Streets, studying how removing Amur Bush Honeysuckle affected these waterway habitats.
The good news is that Dolan and Brown found that native plants did arise in place of the invasive species and plant biodiversity improved. However, many of these native plants rely on animals to disperse them and so were less resilient that those that grow perennially. This meant that the overall habitat did not significantly improve, leading Dolan and Brown to conclude that consistent maintenance of these and sites like them is needed.
Everyone can help from their own backyards by decreasing the amount of invasive species spreading into our natural waterway areas. Remove invasive plants from your yard and replace them with native plants that filter water pollution and prevent harmful stormwater runoff from reaching our waterways. Learn more by watching our Invasive Species video and by checking out our Residential Invasive Species Removal Guide.