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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Lauderdale, Florida » Invasive Plant Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #372837
Research Project: Identification, Evaluation, and Implementation of Biological Control Agents for Invasive Weeds of Southeastern Ecosystems

Location: Invasive Plant Research Laboratory

Title: Precision pulling: Federal invasive plant lab helps Broward county remove invasive ferns

Author
item Smith, Melissa
item Lake, Ellen
item HOWELL, PATRICIA - Broward County Parks And Recreation

Submitted to: Wildland Weeds
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/15/2014
Publication Date: 3/14/2014
Citation: Smith, M., Lake, E.C., Howell, P. 2014. Precision pulling: Federal invasive plant lab helps Broward county remove invasive ferns. Wildland Weeds. 16: 23-24.

Interpretive Summary: A group of volunteers comprised of technicians, post-docs and scientists from the USDA ARS Invasive Plant Research Laboratory in Fort Lauderdale, worked with Broward County Parks at their Fern Forest location in Coconut Creek, Florida. Fern forest is made up of a large tract of porous limestone, secondary hardwood hammocks and several endangered and endemic fern species. Invasive species are the single biggest threat to this small, but important park. Tectaria incisa or broad Halberd fern is an invasive congener of another native endemic fern, T. heracleifolia. The ability to tell the difference between the two species is critical for control efforts. Because of the plant identification skills of the group, they were recruited by park staff for a volunteer effort in a particularly sensitive area. The crew was able to pull 460 pounds of T. incisa in a 100 x 100 meter area of the park. Because the crew was able to accomplish this removal without the use of herbicides, there was no collateral damage to the area. This effort will likely need to be repeated as the area is heavily infested with T. incisa spores and rhizomes, but the team can be used again and the instance provides an excellent model for invasive species specific service efforts.

Technical Abstract: A group of volunteers comprised of technicians, post-docs and scientists from the USDA ARS Invasive Plant Research Laboratory in Fort Lauderdale, worked with Broward County Parks at their Fern Forest location in Coconut Creek, Florida. Fern forest is made up of a large tract of porous limestone, secondary hardwood hammocks and several endangered and endemic fern species. Invasive species are the single biggest threat to this small, but important park. Tectaria incisa or broad Halberd fern is an invasive congener of another native endemic fern, T. heracleifolia. The ability to tell the difference between the two species is critical for control efforts. Because of the plant identification skills of the group, they were recruited by park staff for a volunteer effort in a particularly sensitive area. The crew was able to pull 460 pounds of T. incisa in a 100 x 100 meter area of the park. Because the crew was able to accomplish this removal without the use of herbicides, there was no collateral damage to the area. This effort will likely need to be repeated as the area is heavily infested with T. incisa spores and rhizomes, but the team can be used again and the instance provides an excellent model for invasive species specific service efforts.