What is an invasive plant?

A plant that is not native to the area it is in AND that causes environmental harm. For example, some invasive plants in Ohio cause water quality issues and/or soil erosion issues.

Why Should We Care?

Invasive plants can cause environmental issues that affect human health. Some invasive plants species in Ohio greatly reduce the quality of our water. They even use up so much water that they deplete water supplies and cause waterways to shrink.

Invasive plants greatly reduce biodiversity where they are found. Some species will take over an area quickly due to having an expansive root system and others take over by producing a massive amount of seeds. By overpowering the native species, an invasive species will take over, reducing the diversity of plants in an area from many species down to just a few species. An area with little plant diversity can’t support many native animals and can result in only the invasive species remaining.   

What Can We Do?

We can all help by learning to identify plants in our area. Once we learn how to identify invasive plants, we can begin removing them when we see them on our own properties, gardens or planters. If you’ve found a lot of invasive plants in your area, you’re not alone! Invasive plants are unfortunately very common in Ohio and are spreading rapidly.

To manage invasive plants in your area, you can create a plan to begin controlling them. It may take time to completely remove them, maybe even a few years, but the reward of seeing native plants take over and native wildflowers use them, will be worth the work put in. You can learn more about creating an invasive plant management plan from the Summit MetroPark’s Wild Back Yard Program, here: https://www.summitmetroparks.org/grow-wild-back-yard/.