TITLE:
The Invasive Species of Walhalla Area in Columbus, Ohio
AUTHORS:
Mohannad G. Al-Saghir
KEYWORDS:
Walhalla, Flora, Invasive Species, Inventory, Ohio
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.6 No.11,
September
30,
2016
ABSTRACT: Invasive species
are plants, animals, or pathogens that are non-native (or alien) to the
ecosystem under consideration and whose introduction causes or is likely to
cause harm. Invasive species can harm both the natural resources in an
ecosystem as well as threaten human use of these resources. Walhalla is an urban wooded
ravine area (10 acre area) in the middle of Columbus, Ohio. Many residents are
actually actively planting new invasive species in a misguided attempt to
prevent erosion on their property. Other properties are suffering from
not-so-benign neglect, as the existing trees are slowly succumbing to insect
infestation and rot (because of moisture trapped by ivy, etc.) and no new
saplings are emerging to replace them (because of the thick ground cover). In
both of these instances, it’s proving to be difficult to convince the
landowners that they’re causing more harm than good—the local soil & water
conservation people are all too eager to reinforce the notion that the ground
must be covered with a blanket of impenetrable invasive species in order to
prevent erosion. The objectives of this study were to collect and identify the
invasive species in Walhalla area in order to educate the residents about these
species and its impact on their properties and gardens; moreover, using the
findings of this project to develop a plan to remove these dangerous species.
This survey has documented 18 invasive species in 18 families. Two notable
invasive species were found in this area, Alliaria
petiolata (M. Bieb.) Cavara & Grande and Hedera helix L. (English
Ivy). The found invasive species have an abundant growth in the studied area.
The studied area has had no previous botanical collecting. Therefore, the area
was in an urgent need to be inventoried and analyzed in order to identify and
document its invasive species. Moreover, these identified species will be used
for educational purposes for the residents of this area and well rounded plan is
developed to remove these harmful species. This inventory represents a model
for the other residential and agricultural areas in the state to follow, which
will help overcome the negative impact and damage caused by the invasive
species in these areas.