Policeman’s helmet. Found in moist forests,
roadsides, and riparian areas in Oregon and Washington; tolerates
shade. Photo Credit: Institute
for Applied Ecology.
PORTLAND, Ore. July 13, 2011. Thumbing through this guide and viewing
the color and beauty of each plant, it is hard to realize that these
are pests and invasive species. The recent release, Nonnative Invasive
Plants of Pacific
Coast Forests: A Field Guide for Identification, by the Forest Service’s
Pacific Northwest Research Station, is a concise and well-illustrated field
guide for novice botanists and managers alike.
Nonnative plants affect the composition and function of natural
and managed landscapes. They can have a large economic effect on landowners
local governments through eradication costs and lost or degraded
land use,” according
to lead author and Forest Service research ecologist Andrew Gray.
The 91-page color guide provides detail on each plant in nontechnical
language and photos of different stages of plant development
are included to allow reliable identification in the field at different
times of the year.
Information was synthesized from various national, regional,
and state lists, assessments, and botanical guides.
Our final list was designed to capture species believed to be most
prevalent or problematic for use in strategic forest inventories
like the Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis Program,” adds
Little comprehensive information exists on the abundance,
distribution, and impact of nonnative plants. The lack of identification
with sufficiently specific descriptions and detailed images makes
collecting information on
the impact of invasives difficult. Gray and his colleagues, Katie
Barndt, an instructor at North Seattle Community College, and Sarah
at the University of Washington’s School of Forest Resources, designed
a study to prioritize a list of nonnative invasive plants affecting
forest lands in the Pacific coastal states. This field guide is
the result of their
study and covers California, Oregon, and Washington.
the guide visit http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr817.pdf or order a hard copy by sending an e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.org.
Ask for PNW-GTR-817. Reporters: photos available on request.
Found in Oregon and Washington forests, riparian areas, roadsides,
and disturbed areas, to 500 feet elevation. Photo Credit: Amadej Trnkozy
loosestrife. Found in moist or marshy areas and disturbed sites
throughout California, Oregon, and Washington; tolerates some shade. Photo
Credit: Katie Barndt
The PNW Research Station is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.
It has 11 laboratories and centers located in Alaska, Oregon,
and Washington and about 425 employees.