Last weekend, I joined the Austin Invasive Species Corps to identify locations of Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense), an invasive species invading in the Long Canyon portion of the Balcones Canyonland Preserve (BCP).
I was happy to talk again with Mr. Chris Warren, a biologist with the BCP, and see the area that we helped to clear last year in my video, Titanic Struggle with Chinese Privet Ends with their Doom. (I’ll post another great video interview with him soon!)
Commander Ben and Biologist Chris Warren examine a small Chinese Privet.
It was nice to see a lot of native plants starting to grow back in the open spaces that the Chinese Privet plants used to occupy. We had pulled up a lot, but more were starting to creep back in and there were other areas too where the Ligustrum overran the native plants. (Sometimes the biologists in our group would call Chinese Privet by its scientific name, Ligustrum.)
Pulling up Chinese Privet with a weed wrench.
We used special weed wrenches to hand pull as much Chinese Privet as we could find. These heavy tools help to pull up the plant, roots and all, otherwise it could grow back from a stump.
It was a fun day filled with hunting invasives, hard work, and listening also to some wonderful presentations from many different people who are experts in the field of invasive species.
Know your invasive species: Chinese Privet
Small Chinese Privet plant (But they get much bigger!)
Chinese Privet is a woody bush with green leaves that break off easily and has lots of shoots growing out from the stalk. It can sometimes be confused with the following native plants:
- Elbow bush (Forestiera pubescens)
How to tell them apart: Elbow Bush has branches that grow at 90 degree angles
- Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria)
How to tell them apart: The Yaupon has a tooth edge leaf instead of smooth edge leaf like the Chinese privet.
Unfortunately, Chinese Privet invaded the lower area of Long Canyon where it crowded out the native plants to create a monoculture. Seeds from “Godzilla” sized Chinese Privet that were planted in the landscapes of homes up on a ridge, washed downhill, grew, and quickly multiplied. This process happens over and over again when it rains and when birds carry the seed berries too.
In Asia, Chinese Privet’s native home, it stays in check because it has to contend with disease, parasites, and wildlife “eaters”. Here in the U.S., Chinese Privet is essentially free of predators, and this allows it to spread aggressively. Even our deer don’t like to eat it! They prefer our native Texas plants instead.
As a non-native and pioneer species, this invasive plant can grow and spread quickly.
So why is it a problem if Chinese Privet establishes a monoculture in our area?
Know your Endangered Species: Golden cheeked warbler
Golden-Cheeked Warbler
Photo Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Well, it all has to do with water and the cute…and endangered…Golden-Cheeked Warbler.
The Golden-Cheeked Warbler, is a native bird and it uses the bark of the Ashe Juniper (Cedar) tree to make its nests. These birds eat the larva of moths and butterflies that live on the Texas Live Oak trees. Unfortunately, the Chinese Privet hogs the water and crowds out the the Cedars and the Oaks, and this eliminates the habitat and food for the Warbler.
This is especially troubling because the Golden-Cheeked Warbler is the only bird species with a breeding range confined to Texas from Palo Pinto County southwestward along the eastern and southern edge of the Edwards Plateau to Kinney County. The Balcones Canyonland Preserve is part of the Warblers’ habitat.
By clearing the Chinese Privet, we hope to create more habitat and food for the Golden-Cheeked Warbler.
Another opportunity to clear invasive species next month
Mark your calendars on Saturday, September 29, when the Austin Invasive Species Corps will get together again for a land management workday to fight against invasive plants in a new area of Long Canyon. This time, they’ll grapple with a team of two villains:
This is your chance to be an Invasive Hunter in action to battle against invasive species and help save the Golden-Cheeked Warbler!
Many thanks to Ms. Louise Liller, volunteer coordinator for the Austin Water Utility’s Wildland Conservation Division; Mr. Chris Warren; Austin biologists Mr. Darrell Hutchinson and Mr. Matt McCaw; and the valiant voluteers of the Austin Invasive Species Corp for hosting this event and making a difference for our endangered songbird and our native ecosystem.
Your friend,
Ben
Commander Ben 