Invasive Species
Invasive species (plant or animal) are often non-native species that lack natural predators to control their populations. With no predators, invasives are able to out-compete native plants for resources like food, water, and sunlight. Species that are able to create such monopolies leave few resources for native species to survive. When an invasive species arrives in a new ecosystem, they can be nearly impossible to remove.
If you find a plant that you believe to be an invasive species, it is important to report it so somebody can identify it and take the necessary actions to prevent its spread. An easy way to do this is through the “Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System” (or EDDMapS) of Ontario. This is an app available on both the App Store and the Google Play Store. It provides you with a list of hundreds of invasive species to look out for and has a built in reporting system if you find any.
Find out more about EDDMapS at https://www.eddmaps.org/ontario/
Non-Native Species
Non-native species are species that live outside of their native range due to human activity, deliberate or accidental.
While most invasive species are also non-native, not all non-native species are invasive. Now, I’m not suggesting that we start introducing new non-native species into ecosystems as they could very well prove to be invasive. This has proven to be a bad strategy over the course of history. But if a species has already been introduced into an ecosystem and seems to be able to live harmony with native species, I don’t see why it would be inherently bad for the ecosystem just for the fact that they are a foreign species.
Building Sustainable Systems with Non-Native Plants
My goal is to create sustainable systems in my community, so I’m constantly looking for the best sustainable solutions to world issues. When I found out about the benefits of native plants I knew they had to be a better alternative to turfgrass lawns for their ability to sustain wildlife and sequester carbon. I also looked into urban agriculture as a possible sustainable solution. While there is a selection of greens, nuts, mushrooms, berries, and more that can be found in the wild in Ontario, I was a little disappointed to see some of my favorite foods missing in the native plant encyclopedia. I then had to ask the question: is it possible to create sustainable systems using non-native plants?
After some research and talking to my sister Brooke (a student at the University of Laurentian specializing in Ecology with a minor in Ingidenous Ecological Knowledge), I came to the conclusion that non-native plants can in fact be a part of a sustainable system as long as they meet certain criteria.
The non-native plant in question must:
- Be able to sustain life.
- Produce more resources than it consumes
- Not out-compete other plants in the ecosystem.
- Not leave the soil degraded and void of nutrients.
An example of a type of farming that follows these rules has been practiced by indigenous populations in Canada since before the age of colonialism. When beans, corn, and squash are planted in the same plot of land, they form a symbiotic relationship. The corn provides a structure for the bean vines to climb on, the beans add nitrogen to the soil naturally, and the squash creates a living mulch on the ground to protect and feed the soil. This naturally keeps the soil rich with nutrients year after year without the need to rotate crops. These 3 plants are not native to Ontario, but it seems to me that they can be grown here sustainably regardless of their foreign status.
As long as farming is done responsibly and contained within a predetermined area, I firmly believe that non-native crops can have a net positive impact on our communities and the environment.
Do you agree? Let me know what you think about non-native and invasive species in the comments below!
Brooke here (Scott’s sister), I agree with Scott’s view on cultivating non-native plants in our own backyards, and that not all non-native plants are inherently bad. I think if we are aware of what we are planting and where we are planting it, then we can do so without causing harm to the natural environment.