Plants
We created a list of plant species present for each of 54 sites in 2014.
We also documented ground cover - the kinds of plants and material covering the ground - in six categories: bare soil, grass, gravel, herbaceous, leafy debris, moss. In 2016, we conducted a detailed inventory of invasive plants along a short section of Crabtree Creek Trail. |
We used small paint marks to help us re-find each of our sites for data collection and analyses (2014).
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Plant SpeciesWe documented a total of 65 plant species across the 54 sites evaluated in 2014. The number of plant species found at each site varied from 4 to 21, with an average of 12 species per site. A total of 9 of the species were non-native, with Japanese honeysuckle and Chinese privet occurring at the most sites.
Sites with many different species tended to have dense forest almost to the edge of the trail; sites with large areas of open grass and few trees contained fewer plant species. The species occurring at the most sites are shown in the graph to the left. |
We mapped the occurrence of 5 invasive plant species along a 4-mile stretch of Crabtree Creek Trail.
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Invasive Plants
Left unmanaged, invasive plants can out-compete and displace native plants. We mapped the occurrence and density of five invasive plants in a 16ft (5m) band along each side of the recently-opened, 4-mile Crabtree Creek Trail between Anderson Point Park to the east and Milburnie Road to the west.
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Honeysuckle & stiltgrass are common
Japanese honeysuckle was present in low cover classes (1-5%, 5-25%) over a large portion of the land abutting the Crabtree Creek Trail.
Japanese stiltgrass was present in a smaller portion of the land, but was much denser (>50% cover) where it did occur. We found English ivy in only one place. |
Honeysuckle and stiltgrass were the most common invasive plants.
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Adjusting for the high and low ends of cover class categories provides a range of land potentially covered by each invasive plant.
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Dense stilgrass covered the most land
After adjusting for cover class (see above), Japanese stiltgrass was the most common and covered more land than the four other common invasive plants.
Eliminating invasive plants is a long process. Japanese stiltgrass is difficult to eliminate, because seeds can persist a long time in the soil and are constantly deposited from upstream sources. Privet and Silverberry grow as bushes that can be removed mechanically. |
This effort is a collaboration among NC State University; Raleigh Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Resources; the Nature Research Center of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences; and WakeNature Preserves Partnership. This effort is being led and conducted by students in a course on Natural Resources Measurements at NC State University.