Invasive, exotic plant management volunteer group/Glossy Buckthorn, Rhamnus frangula
Habitat Education Center & Wildlife Sanctuary, Belmont, Massachusetts, 02478
Massachusetts Audubon Society
Location: The 87 acre Habitat sanctuary is at 10 Juniper Road, Belmont. It is approximately one mile from Belmont center and 0.8 mile from Rte. 2.
Nature of the project: To recruit interested volunteer groups and individuals for hand pulling and Weed Wrenching, glossy buckthorn. Of the 15 exotic invasive plants growing on the sanctuary, glossy buckthorn is the most widely distributed. It crowds out native woody and herbaceous plants. The goal is to reduce glossy buckthorn populations 90% or more on the more heavily infested sites on our sanctuary. Since 1998 the sanctuary grounds department has recruited and worked with approximately 110 volunteers and removed close to 9,000 buckthorn plants covering about 40 plus acres.
Dates of project: S.O.S. is an ongoing small volunteer group that was started in 1998. The group meets four times a year, spring and fall on Saturday mornings.
Partners: S.O.S. is and has been mainly composed of interested local individuals ranging in age from 10 to 70 years old. Groups have been local Boy Scout troops, Belmont public school groups, Belmont Hill School environmental classes and sanctuary education staff. Other sanctuary run programs contributing to our goal of buckthorn reduction are Habitat Intergenerational Program (HIP) volunteers, Phyl Solomon, coordinator; the Weeks Pond Rejuvenation Project volunteers, Allison Mooney, coordinator; and the Mass Audubon Property Staff Work Day, Roger Wrubel, coordinator and Sanctuary Director.
Best Management Practices: About 90% of buckthorn is and has been removed by hand pulling and using Weed Wrenches. About 10% of buckthorn has been removed by property staff (licensed pesticide applicators) doing cut stump application using Round Up.
Local Contact: Bruce Wenning, Grounds Manager and coordinator of S.O.S.
Photos: See map. Outline indicates areas of buckthorn removal / reduction by 90%.
Red outlined areas were done by S.O.S volunteers and property staff.
Brown outlined area done by HIP and Weeks Pond Rejuvenation Project volunteers.
Green outlined area done by the Mass Audubon Property Staff Work Day group.
The current invasive exotic plants at Habitat ranked in order of distribution and abundance.
1. Glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus = Rhamnus frangula). Shrub.
2. Asiatic bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus). Vine.
3. Goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria). Herbaceous ground cover.
4. Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora). Shrub.
5. Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata). Herbaceous garden plant.
6. Bush honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.). Shrub.
7. Winged euonymous (Euonymous alatus). Shrub.
8. Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii). Shrub.
9. Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima). Tree.
10. Norway maple (Acer platanoides). Tree.
11. Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica). Shrub like perennial.
12. Porcelain berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata). Vine.
13. Common buckthorn (Rhamnus carthartica). Shrub.
14. Common barberry (Berberis vulgaris). Shrub.
15. Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata). Shrub.
16. Black swallow-wort (Vincetoxicum nigrum). Vine.
The above sixteen plant species are invasive at the Habitat sanctuary. Glossy buckthorn is distributed through out the 87 acre sanctuary making it the most widely distributed and abundant of them all. Asiatic bittersweet vine is second and more abundant in our wetlands. Numbers 3 through 16 are present in low numbers and are concentrated at specific sites at the sanctuary.
Bruce Wenning. September 21, 2005.
Massachusetts Audubon Society
Habitat Education Center & Wildlife Sanctuary
10 Juniper Road, Belmont, Mass. 02478
1-617-489-5050 x 209
bwenning@massaudubon.org
A Tree Planting ceremony in Kigali may be seen here.