Forest Service Updates Free Guide To Invasive Plants In Southern Forests

 USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) Director Jim Reaves today announced that gardeners, foresters, landowners and others concerned about nonnative invasive plants in the South can now request free copies of "A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests". The long-awaited book is an update of the very popular "Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests: A Field Guide for Identification and Control", published by the Station in 2003.

"The book's lead author, Jim Miller, is one of the foremost authorities on invasive plants in the South, so we're delighted to offer this enhanced field guide at no cost to anyone interested in learning about and identifying invasive plants in the region," said Reaves. "The Forest Service has distributed nearly 160,000 copies of Jim's first book on invasive plants, and with the spread of exotic species across region, we expect there will be even more demand for this expanded version."

SRS Research Ecologist Jim Miller co-authored "Invasive Plants in Southern Forests" with SRS Research Technician, Erwin Chambliss and Research Fellow and Extension Specialist at Auburn University Nancy Loewenstein.

"Invasive Plants in Southern Forests" gives users a more comprehensive identification guide to nonnative trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, ferns and forbs invading the region’s forests and other natural areas. The updated field guide added:

23 more plant species with updated information on the original 33 species
241 new photos and images
Enhanced photo clarity and color
A new "Resembles" section so users can identify plant "look-alikes"

The book's appendix contains the most complete list of nonnative invasive plants in the 13 Southern states, providing common and scientific names for 310 other invading species including, for the first time, aquatic plant invaders. Also, the authors updated the "Sources of Identification Information" section to include the latest books, manuals and articles on invasive plants. The ever-expanding website section lists Internet resources that provide useful information on identification and efficient management.

At the same time, "Invasive Plants in Southern Forests" retains features that attracted users to Miller's first book, such as detailed descriptions of select plants, their stems, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds, ecology, history and use, and distribution.

"Invasive Plants in Southern Forests" differs from Miller's first book in that the update focuses solely on the "identification" of exotic plants and does not include "control" methods.  Jim Miller and co-authors Steven Manning, president of Invasive Plant Control, Inc., and Stephen Enloe, weed management extension specialist at Auburn University, cover methods for controlling invasive plants in a new, companion book titled "A Management Guide for Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests," available October, 2010.

People can request copies of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests by sending their name and complete mailing address, along with book title, author, and publication number GTR-SRS-119 to: pubrequest@fs.fed.us.

"Invasive Plants in Southern Forests" is posted in PDF format on the SRS website at www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/35292. In addition, the book is available in html format at
http://wiki.bugwood.org/Archive:IPSF. People interested in using images from the book can download files at www.forestryimages.org.


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High school students, teachers get schooled on invasive species

High School students and teachers from all over south Georgia gathered in Tifton earlier this month to learn more about invasive species and what to do if they see them.

The Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System is a web-based system anyone can use to report and document invasive species. The teachers and students attended the first-ever workshop for the system in Georgia.

The workshop was organized by Susan Reinhardt, the K-12 program coordinator on the University of Georgia campus in Tifton. Part of the Young Scholars program, the workshop showed them how to find invasive species, why they are harmful and how to report them using the EDDMapS mapping system. On a field trip, the participants saw and collected information on invasive plants firsthand.

“My goal was to show them that invasive species are everywhere, even in their own backyard,” said Karan Rawlins, an invasive species coordinator with the UGA Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. “They were shocked as we found over a dozen invasive plants including mimosa, Chinese wisteria, Japanese honeysuckle, Chinese tallowtree, Japanese climbing fern, wild taro, and Chinese privet in a small area on (the Tifton) campus.”

As the invasive species were found, the group took pictures of the plants and GPS coordinates to mark each plant. This information was later put into the EDDMapS.

To learn more about EDDMapS or to report an invasive species, go to the website www.eddmaps.org.


By Erin Griffin
University of Georgia


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Scientist Names Top Five Invasive Plants Threatening Southern Forests in 2009

U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) Ecologist Jim Miller, Ph.D., one of the foremost authorities on nonnative plants in the South, today identified the invasive plant species he believes pose the biggest threats to southern forest ecosystems in 2009.

"Cogongrass, tallowtree, and Japanese climbing fern are among the fastest moving and most destructive nonnative plant species facing many southern landowners this year," said Miller. "Rounding out the top five invasive species that I’m very concerned about would be tree-of-heaven and nonnative privets. While our forests are besieged by numerous invasive plants, these and other nonnative species present serious financial and ecological threats to the South and its forests in 2009."

Nonnative species often out-compete native forest plants and may degrade forest productivity, wildlife habitat, recreational values, and water quality. Invasive species also greatly increase expenses as public and private land managers work to combat their spread and deal with their effects (such as increased wildfire risk and severity).

Nonnative plants can be introduced and spread by wildlife or through other natural means. Humans also spread invasive species by planting them in their gardens and yards and by seeds hitchhiking on their clothes. Additionally, tractors and mowers used in multiple locations without being cleaned often spread nonnative plants.

In an effort to inform forest managers, landowners, and others about where the most threatening invasive plants are in the South and to help them prepare for these threats, Miller collaborated with SRS Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) scientists to develop maps showing the spread, county-by-county, across the Southeast of more than 30 of the most serious nonnative plant species. The invasive plant data were collected on FIA plots throughout the southern United States in cooperation with State forestry agencies. In partnership with the University of Georgia’s Center for Invasive Species Science and Ecosystem Health, SRS researchers recently posted the maps and occupation levels online.

Maps posted at http://www.invasive.org/fiamaps/acres.cfm show the number of acres in a county covered by each nonnative species. Maps posted online at

http://www.invasive.org/fiamaps/percent.cfm show the percent of subplots analyzed in a county that have each invasive species. A spreadsheet found at
http://www.invasive.org/fiamaps/summary.pdf shows the total acreage of 33 invasive plant species in 12 Southeastern States (data for eastern Oklahoma is missing as SRS FIA just
completed this part of the State’s inventory this month). Users can access the maps and spreadsheet via http://www.invasive.org/fiamaps/. Current plans are for researchers to update the information annually.

Miller hopes government agencies, forest managers, natural resource professionals, landowners, students, and others will use the information to help combat the spread of nonnative plant species in southern forest and grassland ecosystems.

Details on the five invasive plants mentioned above can be found online via: http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/gtr/gtr_srs062/. The Web page features Jim Miller’s book titled Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests: A Field Guide for Identification and Control, published in 2003. Request a copy by e-mail at srspubqueue@fs.fed.us or by calling 828-257-4830.

Based in Auburn, AL, Miller is a scientist in the SRS Insects, Diseases, and Invasive Plants of Southern Forests unit.

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