Invasive plants are creating a number of concerns for timber owners in central Illinois.
Bush honeysuckle, garlic mustard and Russian olive are among the more commonly encountered invasive plants that are crowding out native plants, according to Ken Johnson, horticulture educator with the University of Illinois Extension Office serving Calhoun, Cass, Greene, Morgan and Scott counties.
“With bush honeysuckle, they will leaf out earlier and shade out native plants, so they are out-competed,” Johnson said.
He said that will cause problems in the long run because invasive plants such as bush honeysuckle will force out the native understory vegetation, leading to unhealthy wooded areas.
“When the native vegetation is pushed out, it affects certain insects that rely on those plants for food,” Johnson said. “For example, certain butterflies or moths will only eat particular plants as caterpillars. The same with certain species of bees. The biggest concern with invasive plants in wooded areas is the overall lack of diversity that they can cause.”
Central Illinois timberland owners are fighting the unwanted plant invasion in a variety of ways, according to Johnson.
Among those who have been battling bush honeysuckle are Ed and Elizabeth Anderson, who live east of Concord. They have been working to eradicate the invasive plant in their 80 acres of timber since 2010.
“In 2010, we realized we had to remove the bush honeysuckle if we were going to have healthy woodlands,” Ed Anderson said.
“I used a chainsaw on the larger bush honeysuckle and Elizabeth used a backpack herbicide sprayer on the smaller plants,” he said. “With a lot of effort, our woods are back to their natural state with native flora. We are investing our time and effort into restoring a natural forest community for future generations.”
Johnson said some property owners have even turned to aerial spraying to control large invasions of bush honeysuckle.
“Another reason to control bush honeysuckle is because researchers have found that areas with that invasive plants have more ticks, and ticks can transmit diseases.”
The Andersons said regeneration is the issue with the timber.
“Our focus is to let the public know that our woods in central Illinois are threatened and unless something is done, people will not recognize their woods,” Elizabeth Anderson said. “This is really dire. Foresters are greatly concerned about the situation.”
