Using Plants to Control Common Buckthorn

Management of common buckthorn is often ineffective since buckthorn rapidly re-establishes from seeds and re-sprouts. At experimental buckthorn removal sites around Minnesota, USA, the Cover It Up! project has found that re-establishing dense native revegetation can limit invasion by buckthorn and other exotic plants by exerting strong competition for light and augmenting fuel loads for prescribed burns. Now in its eighth year, the project continues to yield new insights into the establishment rate and invasion-suppression capacity of native plants, especially in forests with denser tree canopies where herb growth has been slowest. This talk by Dr. Michael Schuster will focus on the diversity of revegetation approaches examined and comparing the outcomes of those different approaches.

[umnmitppc]

What a great webinar, full of practical information. Thank you to the Invasive Species Centre for hosting!

[hmhinton]

Wow, great research and scientific study driven outcomes that will help those of us trying to deal with Buckthorn. I (finally) have hope!

[ChitFromChinola]

Have you published any data on the manual cut/strip method yet?

[ChitFromChinola]

Planting shrubs seems impractical. I have 65 acres of buckthorn-infested woods, and it’s hard to picture planting enough elderberry to make a difference. Your research on planting grasses, however, is extremely useful. I’d like to see more work done on types and methods of low-cost, time-effective seeding for repressing buckthorn.

[flannelsfishing]

Have they done experiments with changing around of the herbaceous seed mixtures to include different types of aggressive and rhizomatous native grasses and flowers? Something like a Canada goldenrod that gets tall, holds its flowers until late fall, spreads by rhizomes and aggressive self seeding, and secretes chemical from its roots that excludes other plants comes to mind. Also what about trees that secrete excluding chemicals such as black walnut? Does that have any effect on buckthorns? Also in more open sites what about our very tall native aggressive grasses such as Big Bluestem and Indian grass?

[consanna]

I have done my own research over ten years of removing buckthorn. First the seed bank is amazing, but they must be protected by caging to protect them from deer browsing. The studies I have read point to more than 10 deer/square mile overgraze the Forrest and open it to buckthorn. In my city of 20 square miles there are 500 deer.or. 25 per square mile. Natives have no chance, planted or from the seed bank.

[con_sci]

if your office is located on stolen land, why have you not returned it yet, buddy?