For us today, it might be planting millions of trees. Most generations have a magic fix they believe in. For the agencies in the U.S. back in the 1930s, it was a tough little shrub called bicolor lespedeza. The idea seemed simple and sensible. But now, decades later, the story looks far more complicated.
It was promoted and widely planted for erosion control and wildlife conservation, according to the USDA Forest Service’s Fire Effects Information System .
The plant was also well suited to the task. The review states that strains were chosen based on traits such as high seed productivity, winter tolerance, and fast seed maturation. Such traits are typical of plants meant to spread across an area and serve as food for animals. They may also help a plant spread on its own.
It cites a forestry handbook saying that the plant can produce as many as 300 million seeds per acre, which is an upper figure.
For the bigger picture, there is a Forest Service guide , ‘A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests. James H. Miller, Erwin B. Chambliss, and Nancy J. They say these infestations are increasingly draining forest productivity, interfering with forest use and management, and degrading diversity and wildlife habitat. The guide’s entry on the shrubby lespedezas notes that they were planted widely in forest openings for wildlife food plots and soil stabilization before they spread into adjoining stands.
Loewenstein describe 56 non-native plants and plant groups that are invading forests throughout 13 southern states.
A useful question is how the project will look in 10 years, not just in the moment. Because tree drives and restoration projects are all the rage, this is important today,. This shrub was not planted with harmful intent. Agencies were acting on the best advice of the day to protect soil and help wildlife. The lesson is not that they were careless. It’s that when you spread one plant over a huge area, it can have effects that take decades to manifest.
Decades from now, today’s restoration plans will be judged in the same way.
