Invasive Vines Traditional Cache

Invasive Vines are overwhelming here. They remind me of the Kudzu of the South. Luckily we don't have to deal with that...yet. It has reached Long Island. The cache is across the trail from the picture.

Invasive Vines

An invasive species is a plant, fungus or animal species that is not native to a specific location (an introduced species), and which has a tendency to spread to a degree believed to cause damage to the environment, human economy or human health.

One study pointed out widely divergent perceptions of the criteria for invasive species among researchers and concerns with the subjectivity of the term “invasive”. Some of the alternate usages of the term are below:

The term as most often used applies to introduced species (also called "non-indigenous" or "non-native") that adversely affect the habitats and bioregions they invade economically, environmentally, or ecologically. Such invasive species may be either plants or animals and may disrupt by dominating a region, wilderness areas, particular habitats or wildland-urban interface land from loss of natural controls (such as predators or herbivores).

An alternate usage broadens the term to include indigenous or "native" species along with non-native species, that have colonized natural areas. Deer are an example, considered to be overpopulating their native zones and adjacent suburban gardens, by some in the Northeastern and Pacific Coast regions of the United States.

Species-based mechanisms

While all species compete to survive, invasive species appear to have specific traits or specific combinations of traits that allow them to outcompete native species. In some cases, the competition is about rates of growth and reproduction. In other cases, species interact with each other more directly.

Common invasive species traits include the following:

    •    Fast growth

    •    Rapid reproduction 

    •    High dispersal ability

    •    Phenotypic Plasticity (the ability to alter growth form to suit current conditions)

    •    Tolerance of a wide range of environmental conditions (Ecological competence)

    •    Ability to live off of a wide range of food types (generalist)

    •    Association with humans

    •    Prior successful invasions

Invasive species often coexist with native species for an extended time, and gradually, the superior competitive ability of an invasive species becomes apparent as its population grows larger and denser and it adapts to its new location.

Ecosystem-based mechanisms

Ecosystem changes can alter species' distributions. For example, edge effect describe what happens when part of an ecosystem is disturbed as when land is cleared for agriculture. The boundary between remaining undisturbed habitat and the newly cleared land itself forms a distinct habitat, creating new winners and losers and possibly hosting species that would not thrive outside the boundary habitat.

New York State Invasive Agricultural Species:

        ^Buckthorn

        ^{Canada thistle [DRAFT]}

        ^{Garlic mustard}

        ^{Giant Hogweed}

        ^Honeysuckle

        ^{Japanese knotweed}

        ^{Japanese Stiltgrass}

        ^{Japanese Virgin’s Bower [DRAFT]}

        ^Kudzu

        ^{Leafy spurge [DRAFT]}

        ^{Lesser Celandine}

        ^{Mile-A-Minute Weed}

        ^{Mugwort [DRAFT]}

        ^{Multiflora Rose} 

        ^{Wild parsnip}

        ^Wineberry

You will recognize many of these names from my geocaches.  Fortunately Kudzu hasn’t made it this far north…yet! Most of my caches are along roads or RR trails, which fall under disturbed habitat, that favors invasives. The woods trails; Ringwood Ponds, Ellis Hollow Preserve, Monkey Run and part of the Park Preserve have quite different, more endemic caches.

Here you will find Bindweed and Wild Grape on top of Virginia Creeper over invasive Honeysuckle and I don’t know what else is underneath it all. The Goldenrod, though native, certainly shows invasive characteristics.

The cache is a tied in, camoed, big, "small" PB jar. For SWAG it has a couple of green bead necklaces, to stay with the green invasive theme. This time there should be more room than usual for mementos. Please BYOP and leave the log as you found it, with the rubber band and sealed in the plastic bag.