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Species Abstracts of Highly Disruptive Exotic Plants

The invasion of non-indigenous plants has been recognized by park managers and natural resource scientists as one of the most serious threats to the integrity of natural systems, rare communities and species, and animal habitat. In a collaborative and on-going project, NBS, the National Park Service, and academic scientists are collecting the data necessary (1) to determine distribution and abundance of non-indigenous plants in national parks in the central United States, and (2) to rank the plants with respect to their invasiveness, potential to disrupt the ecosystem, and ability to be controlled. This information will be used to develop realistic management plans for non-indigenous plant species at each park.

The pages that follow include the ranking system, developed by Ronald Hiebert and James Stubbendiek, and comprehensive abstracts for each species that was ranked as highly disruptive in the areas that have been surveyed. The abstracts contain information on the taxonomy, ecology, distribution within the park, control options, and a literature review for each plant.

Currently, field work is continuing at Theodore Roosevelt National Park and is planned for Wind Cave National Park and Knife River Indian Villages. If you have comments or questions regarding this project, you may direct them to Diane Larson, Research Biologist, Northern Prairie Science Center.

All abstracts included here were initially written by Chuck Butterfield and edited by James Stubbendieck for Pipestone National Monument (PIPE), with the exception of the abstracts on Cynoglossum, Centaurea, and Lythrum which were written by Julie Stumpf and edited by James Stubbendieck. For the Scotts Bluff (SCBL) and Effigy Mounds (EFMO) National Monuments reports, abstracts of plants that had also occurred at PIPE were simply modified to reflect that parks population numbers and rankings. Thus, there will be quite a lot of repetition in abstracts between the park's with only ranking and population numbers changed.

This resource should be cited as:

Butterfield, Chuck, James Stubbendieck, and Julie Stumpf.  1996.  Species 
     abstracts of highly disruptive exotic plants.  Jamestown, ND: Northern 
     Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online.  
     http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/othrdata/exoticab/index.htm
     (Version 16JUL97).

Exotic Species Ranking System

**Effigy Mounds National Monument (December 1994)**

Lythrum salicaria -- Purple loosestrife, purple lythrum
Rhamnus cathartica -- Common buckthorn
Rosa multiflora -- Multiflora rose, Japanese rose
Lonicera tatarica -- Tatarian honeysuckle, tartarian honeysuckle
Bromus inermis -- Smooth brome, Hungarian brome, Austrian brome, Russian brome, awnless brome
Cirsium arvense -- Canada thistle, field thistle, creeping thistle, California thistle
Poa pratensis -- Kentucky bluegrass, Junegrass
Agropyron repens -- Quackgrass, couchgrass

**Pipestone National Monument (July 1992)**

Rhamnus cathartica -- Common buckthorn
Bromus inermis -- Smooth brome, Hungarian brome, Austrian brome, Russian brome, awnless brome
Poa pratensis -- Kentucky bluegrass, Junegrass
Euphorbia esula -- Leafy spurge
Lonicera tatarica -- Tatarian honeysuckle, tartarian honeysuckle
Agropyron repens -- Quackgrass, couchgrass
Cirsium arvense -- Canada thistle, field thistle, creeping thistle, California thistle
Sonchus arvensis -- Perennial sowthistle, field sowthistle, sowthistle, creeping sowthistle, milk thistle, corn sowthistle
Carduus nutans -- Musk thistle, nodding thistle
Melilotus alba -- White sweetclover, sweetclover

Scotts Bluff National Monument

Cirsium arvense -- Canada thistle, field thistle, creeping thistle, California thistle
Carduus nutans -- Musk thistle, nodding thistle
Bromus inermis -- Smooth brome, Hungarian brome, Austrian brome, Russian brome, awnless brome
Bromus tectorum -- Downy brome, downy chess, early chess, drooping brome, cheatgrass brome, wild oats, military grass
Poa pratensis -- Kentucky bluegrass, Junegrass
Melilotus spp. -- White sweetclover, sweetclover
Cynoglossum officinale -- Hound's tongue, dog bur, gypsy flower
Centaurea diffusa -- Diffuse knapweed

Local Control Experts for SCBL Species:

	Extension Weed Specialist
	Panhandle Research and Extension Center
	4502 Avenue I
	Scotts Bluff, NE  69361-4939
	(308) 635-2640

Local Control Experts for PIPE Species:

	Extension Weed Specialist                           Department of Natural Resources      
	Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics           Box 25 DNR Building
	University of Minnesota                             500 Lafayette Road
	St. Paul, MN 55155                                  St. Paul, MN  55155
	(612) 625-5753                                      (612) 296-0778

For further information on any of these National Monuments contact the following:

Effigy Mounds National Monument
151 Highway 76
Harper's Ferry, Iowa 52146
(319)/873-3491

Pipestone National Monument
P.O. Box 727
Pipestone, Minnesota 56164
(507)/825-5464

Scotts Bluff National Monument
P.O. Box 27
Gering, Nebraska 69341-0027
(308)/436-4340

Downloading Instructions -- Instructions on downloading and extracting files from this site.

exoticab.zip (183K) -- Species Abstracts of Highly Disruptive Exotic Plants

Installation: Extract all files and open index.htm in a web browser.

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URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/exoticab/index.htm
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Page Last Modified: Thursday, 24-Aug-2006 09:41:28 EDT
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Species Abstracts of Highly Disruptive Exotic Plants

Table of Contents

Effigy Mounds National Monument (December 1994)

Pipestone National Monument (July 1992)

Scotts Bluff National Monument

**Effigy Mounds National Monument (December 1994)**

**Pipestone National Monument (July 1992)**