What’s a role for invasive species?

Yesterday we promised to share some questions we believe should be answered before any species is officially designated as invasive. We have extracted these questions from a book by Tao Orion, titled: Beyond the War on Invasive Species, A Permaculture Approach to Ecosystem Restoration. See what you think about getting answers to these questions rather than just a decision that a species may cause harm, per Minnesota laws.

dame’s rocket (invasive species) in bloom

Photo by J. Harrington

Some Questions to Guide Observation of Ecosystem Function for Plants

    • What type of root structure does it have (taproot, fibrous root rhizome)?

    • Does it provide nectar or pollen? At what time of year? Are there other services available at this time in the area?

    • Does it provide shade, shelter, nesting sites, or refuge for any bird,, animal or insect?

    • Does it fix nitrogen?

    • Does it accumulate heavy metals? PCBs? Other toxins?

    • Does it concentrate other nutrients or minerals?

    • Does it provide a significant source of biomass (organic material)? Think of its entire life cycle.

    • Does it provide an edible nut, seed, leaf, root, or fruit for humans or other creatures?

    • Does the plant have any mycological associates? If so, which ones? What ecological function do they serve?

    • Does the plant serve a role in water filtration and purification?

    • Does it help with erosion control or floodwater abatement?

    • Does it ameliorate the  process of soil salinization or other  trends of desertification?

    • What is its successional status? Early, mid, late? How can you tell?

    • What is its ecological history? Does it thrive in disturbed soil, high- or low-nutrient profiles, sun, or shade?

Some Questions to Guide Observation of Ecosystem Function for animal

    • What part of the food web  does it feed in? Is it a secondary, tertiary, or quaternary consumer?

    • What organisms feed upon it?

    • Is it recycling nutrients? Where do they come from? Where would they end up otherwise?

    • Does it accumulate heavy metals or other toxins in its tissues?

    • How is it contributing to the succession of the ecosystem?

    • What potential yields could it have?

The Weavers Were the First to Know

Arielle Taitano Lowe

The invasion came like a whisper,
and the leaves changed shapes, 
and the niyok grew sick.

Coconut trees,
our culture’s tree of life,
dying slowly 
as invasive beetles 
eat their hearts 
like world powers 
devour islands.

Weavers hold culture in their 
palms,
weave tradition into their families,
tuck young palms 
into their fingers,
mold them into 
entities.

But now,
our culture’s tree of life 
has grown ill from 
foreign settlement.

Palms severed,
bent like a salute
the way Chamorros are cut like cards
and dealt in front lines of American wars.

The weavers were the first to know
that our niyok is 
sick,
in need of healing.

The same way our island is 
sick,
in need of healing.

I’ve taken up the craft,
so I can weave
traditions
into the palms of my children.

I can only hope that when 
I master it,

palms will remain
for them

to weave into our future. 

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