Invasive Species Control (Buckthorn)

[Stihlboy088]

Hey,

I'm Kinda New at this so any feedback anyone can give would be appreciated. I'm working in an independant study course, Botany 299 at UW-Marshfield/Wood County in Wisconsin. the Campus has a 20 acre arboretum on the grounds which is primarily mixed hardwoods, Maple, Oak, Ash and the place is infested with buckthorn. if anyone has ideas or tips on eradicating these plants from the forest please send em my way.

Sthilboy088

Stihl 360 Pro, Husky 372XP, Stihl 260 Pro, Jonsered 2165 Turbo

 

[Urbicide]

I hate invasives. So would a lot of people if they were informed of just how bad invasives are. The main ones on my property are honeysuckle, multi floral rose, and garlic mustard. Here are some links for you.



http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/index.html

http://www.oipc.info/

http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/index.htm

http://www.weedwrench.com/index.htm

 

[sILlogger]

burning will take care of alot...and the oak regenerations is amazing

 

[Stihlboy088]

Buckthorn

well, it' in a residential area so burnings kinda almost to many loopholes to jump through, i was thinkin' cut stump and herbicides. anyone know about herbicides?

 

[Stihlboy088]

Links

Hey thanks for the links, iv'e checked the weed wrench out before, if i can get enough volunteers that could be an option.

 

[bluestem]

I work for a company that does invasive weed control. For buckthorn our main attack is cut stump treatment. Most of our cutting work takes place in the winter, and we use a 25% solution of Garlon 4. Not something you can pick up at the garden center, you would need someone with a herbicide license to use it. There is probably something at Farm and Fleet you could pick up that has a broadleaf killer in it.

 

[Stihlboy088]

Garlon 4

From the Research i've been doing Garlon 4, and Forestry Garlon XRT have been the two herbicides mainly in use for controlling bucthorn. you say I or someone would need to have a license to apply this herbicide, I was wondering whether certification is nation wide or just state wide? and if you do know what state department would i talk to about acquiring a license? thanks

 

[bluestem]

Pesticide applicator certification is done through the state. Check out the Univ of Wisconsin site, they have training videos and testing info there. These tests are not very hard to pass.

I'm not sure of your financing for this but the Garlon that you would use is quite expensive, around $90 a gallon. We have always bought it in 2.5 gallon jugs. I'm sure you could get it in smaller quantities though.

 

[Stihlboy088]

Herbicides

Do you know of any other herbicides that would be effective and not require a pesticide applicator license?

 

[1953greg]

glyphosate ie roundup will kill it. and anything else that it gets onto the leaves. just dont spray the leaves of desirable plants.

 

[bluestem]

Greg's got it. You can use regular roundup as well from any garden shop. Get the kind that is 100% concentrate. If you want you could probably dilute it down to around 50%, that should take care of it. Some stumps may sprout but you could just hit them again.

Like Greg said make sure you don't get any on any desirable plants, roundup is non-selective, doesn't care what it kills.

 

[Urbicide]

Do you know of any other herbicides that would be effective and not require a pesticide applicator license?

Glyphosphate works well when mixed in higher concentrations for cut stump or hack & squirt applications. Glyphosphates are non-selective when it comes to killing plants (including grasses). The Garlons kill woody stemmed plants and trees and do not normally harm grasses.

Are you sure that you have to have an appplicator's license for Garlon? I can buy it over the counter at my local feed mill here in Ohio.

You can buy it through Forestry Suppliers as long as you do not need a license. The Garlons (3A & 4) and glyphosphate-based herbicides bind with soil particles where they eventually break down. Other herbicides can migrate through the soil and kill vegetation and trees that you do not want to kill. Always read and follow the instructions that come on the herbicide containers. (It is a violation of federal law if you do not.) Be very careful around streams and bodies of water.

http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?mi=1901

 

[Stihlboy088]

herbicide application

I looked it up on the Wisconsin DNR site and found this:
An individual applying pesticides to land controlled by that individual or his/her employer and not receiving compensation beyond normal wages is considered a Commercial Applicator Not-For-Hire. This category includes almost all employees of governmental or educational institutions, and individuals volunteering for non-profit organizations and government agencies . Commercial applicators not-for-hire must be certified and licensed for Restricted-Use pesticides that are applied. Although commercial applicators not-for-hire may apply General-Use pesticides without certification and licensing, the Wisconsin Department of Extension strongly encourages certification for anyone who uses pesticides. In this case, licensing would not be necessary.

So it looks like i'm getting another certification; thanks guys for all the help and links, i'll keep updating the progress of the project and try and post some pictures for your visual entertainment.

Stihlboy088
___________
Stihl 360 Pro Husky 372XP

Stihl 260 Pro Jonny 2165 Turbo

 

[Stihlboy088]

Good Day

Today was a very good day i was told in my Botany 130 class that we got the go ahead for sure from the campus to begin further work on the project and that we got a grant from a local "Forest Ecosystem loving Commitee". My initial estimate on equipment needed to begin the actual removal of buckthorn (excluding herbicides and a chipper) was $5000 and after crunching the numbers, it came out to be $4200 so the commitee was thrilled to see that, but they said when the time comes they would be willing to cover the expense of the herbicides and will start fundraising to purchase a chipper for donation to the school. that's all for now but there will be more to come.

Dave

 

[PB]

Today was a very good day i was told in my Botany 130 class that we got the go ahead for sure from the campus to begin further work on the project and that we got a grant from a local "Forest Ecosystem loving Commitee". My initial estimate on equipment needed to begin the actual removal of buckthorn (excluding herbicides and a chipper) was $5000 and after crunching the numbers, it came out to be $4200 so the commitee was thrilled to see that, but they said when the time comes they would be willing to cover the expense of the herbicides and will start fundraising to purchase a chipper for donation to the school. that's all for now but there will be more to come.

Dave

Good luck, buckthorn is a nasty little plant. I think it might be a losing battle though. Birds love the seeds and spread them all over the place. You will have to be very vigilant of future growth. If there is a seed source there will be more buckthorn every year, especially at the edges of woods, where birds like to hang out and crap (not to mention a lot of sunlight). A full on eradication at UMaine was very unsuccessful a few years ago. Keep us up to date, and hope you have better results, maybe I could pass along the information. (I am assuming you are talking about the genus Rhamnus)

 

[Stihlboy088]

Yeah i'm talking about the genus Rhamnnus, I told my professor that it would definately take at least a few years and i'm probably not going to be around there for a few more years so i'm lobbying her to develop it into a forest management course (hands on work of course), but at least it's a start in the right direction.

Dave

 

[PB]

Yeah i'm talking about the genus Rhamnnus, I told my professor that it would definately take at least a few years and i'm probably not going to be around there for a few more years so i'm lobbying her to develop it into a forest management course (hands on work of course), but at least it's a start in the right direction.

Dave

And a good start at that.

 

[bluestem]

Plantbiologist is right about the aggressive nature of buckthorn. If you are not going to be around over the course of the entire project maybe you could, with the help of your professor, put together a management plan for the site. Because buckthorn is so aggressive, you may want to include some kind of seeding application when the clearing is complete. After a good grass - forb mix is established, a nice spring burn every other year in combination with the planted understory will keep that buckthorn (and any other nasty weeds) out for good.

It sounds like there are people willing to better this habitat, it sounds like they would be willing to help more.

 

[Stihlboy088]

Forest Management

This sounds like a good plan, as far as seedlings go use some type of native grass or mix i assume is what you are talking about correct? what kind of other preperations would i take for prescribed burns? Informative literature? Seminars? Courses? any other licences or certification programs? the only burning iv'e ever done has been slash piles, bonfires and accidentally starting the backyard on fire when i was 7 so any more info is appreciated keep on sharing.
Thanks,
Dave

 

[bluestem]

Yes, some type of native seed mix would do the trick. Probably not much prep involved in the actual seeding of the site, I'm guessing the buckthorn cover was so thick that the ground was void of any vegetation.

You can get good info on seed types and pricing from agrecol, they are a locale Wisconsin company.

If you are looking to get some type of prescribed burn training, not sure I've taken the Red Card training from The University of Wisconsin Stevens Point Fire Crew. Not really geared toward prescribed burning, but is great for basic fire behavior knowledge and such.