effects of invasive species on the environment pt 1

Invasive Species in Central Wisconsin

The goal of this article will be to answer a few questions about Invasive Species. Hopefully after reading this article, you will be able to identify why invasive species have negative effects on the environment. There are a few reasons why invasive species negatively impact the environment.

Species from Other Regions/Countries

Species in our region of the country (along with everywhere else on earth) have competitors that have co-evolved with them, but what about species that have recently been introduced to our region? For example garlic mustard, a plant from England, grows in the forests and by the second year covers the ground, steals nutrients and water from the soil and secretes a chemical into the soil that inhibits the growth of other native plants. The reason for the success of garlic mustard is its lack of natural competitor in the forests of Wisconsin because there is no other plant species in our region that co-evolved with garlic mustard.