{"id":1037,"date":"2012-12-12T10:41:02","date_gmt":"2012-12-12T16:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecologyactioncenter.org\/mCLEANwater\/?page_id=1037"},"modified":"2025-01-28T21:31:50","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T21:31:50","slug":"the-role-of-invasive-species-on-watershed-health","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mcleanwater.org\/?page_id=1037","title":{"rendered":"The Role of Invasive Species on Watershed Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mary Jo Adams, EAC volunteer<\/em><\/p>\n

Understanding how the proliferation of invasive species can influence the health of a watershed comes down to this: water quality declines when the\u00a0diversity of species, integral to the overall ecological health of the landscape, is diminished<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Watersheds have many components. The plants and animals, large and small, that inhabit the landscape provide significant ecological services.<\/p>\n

A plant or animal can be native or non-native (sometimes called \u201calien\u201d).\u00a0 The term \u201cnative\u201d usually refers to those species that naturally occur in any given area prior to European settlement in this country. \u00a0Non-native or alien species were introduced into an area where they did not previously exist, and would not normally occur.<\/p>\n

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, an invasive species<\/em> is:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration AND<\/li>\n
  2. introduction causes, or is likely to cause, economic harm, environmental harm or harm to human health.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Invasive organisms crowd out and out-compete other species, completely eradicated or greatly reducing native species.<\/p>\n

    \"Man<\/a>

    Autumn Olive. Photo by Mary Jo Adams.<\/p><\/div>\n

    The most common invasive plants impacting watersheds in McLean County \u00a0are:<\/p>\n