Plants Out of Place

Plants Out of Place — page 1 — Chapter 1 WHAT ARE PLANTS OUT OF PLACE the 1800s salt cedar was brought to the United States from Asia People thought it would be a nice In In addition to the U S landscape They also thought the small tree or shrub would help prevent soil erosion But soon it was causing more harm than good Sal e Fi dense whi l Cedar t ld Guide Appearance ree t smal shrub or s pink flower te or spreads t i Ways water wind methods Removal herbicides ing l hand pul rol cont biological 4

Plants Out of Place — page 2 — The roots of salt cedar rapidly pull minerals and water out of the soil Mineral salts collect in the leaves When the leaves fall the soil around the salt cedar becomes very saline or salty Nearby plants cannot live in the dry salty soil and many die Between the 1930s and 1950s salt cedar spread uncontrollably and affected birds Before salt cedar spread it was estimated in one location that 100 acres 40 5 hectares of land could be home to approximately 150 species of wildlife But after the arrival of the plant 100 acres 40 5 hectares could support only four species Many plants die when salt cedar invades their habitat 5

Plants Out of Place — page 3 — Salt cedar is an example of a plant that is out of place or a nonnative plant It is also an invasive species or a nonnative species that grows out of control and harms the habitat it overtakes They are the opposite of native plants NATIVE PLANTS In North America many people consider native plants to be those that existed in North America before European settlers brought plants from their continent Today boats should be checked to make sure any invasive plants are not attached and accidentally transferred to another body of water 6

Plants Out of Place — page 4 — Ocean Food Chain killer whale The arrows in the food chain point to what an animal eats In an ocean food chain plankton may be at the bottom and killer whales may be at the top fish seal Native plants squid whale bird shrimp are important parts of food chains and food webs A food chain shows what eats what in an area It illustrates how animals depend on plants to eat grow and live Food webs are food chains that are connected to each other Native plants provide food for herbivores which are animals that eat plants Animals eat the plants leaves and seeds plankton 7

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