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List of invasive plant species in the Indiana Dunes

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The Indiana Dunes is an area of land beside Lake Michigan, in the State of Indiana, United States. It includes Indiana Dunes National Park and Indiana Dunes State Park. Non-native plant species, specifically invasive species, have colonized that area. Invasive plants are those plants that aggressively spread throughout an area and out-compete other plant species, normally those that are native to the area.

Negative impacts

Invasive plant species in the Indiana Dunes have several negative impacts. They may:

  • Displace the variety of flowering plants, substituting a monoculture
  • Grow densely around trails, roads, and water, making travel difficult or impossible
  • Introduce toxins into the environment
  • Have unpleasant spines or thorns
  • Smother ponds, killing fish

Specific examples include:

  • Purple loosestrife – establishes a monoculture, reducing the variety of wildlife.The Singing Sands; National Park Service, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Summer 2009, Vol. 30 No.1
  • Bush honeysuckles – prevents regeneration of woody plants and herbs, reducing bird habitat.
  • Glossy buckthorn – prevents regeneration of woody plants, slowly destroying forests.
  • Garlic mustard – alters the chemistry of the soil to kill other seeds, creating a monoculture.
  • Asian bittersweet – this vine can kill or damage trees and shrubs.
  • Crown vetch – alters the soil chemistry and pushes out the variety of other plants.
  • Japanese knotweed – tolerates floods and drought, creates a monoculture.
  • Spotted knapweed – releases toxins into the soil to poison its competition.
  • Common reed – this introduced non-native species aggressively pushes the native species and other aquatic plants out of the ecosystem.
  • Canada thistle – out-competes native vegetation in prairies, savannas, and dunes.

Species established within the Dunes

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Current threats

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Emerging threats to natural resources or extent unknown

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References

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List of invasive plant species

Invasive plant

Indiana, Dunes

Invasive plant species