Ramblings on invasive flora and black bears
Himalayan Blackberry
Black Bear (Native) Himalayan Blackberry (Invasive)
Recently I have learned that not all non-native organisms are considered invasive. This simple fact was a revelation, it helped me understand the relationship between good environmental stewardship and callous land management practices. Previously, I saw a black and white world of native gardens, that never included non-indigenous plants, as the proper method for gardening. Then I learned a new term, naturalized. Naturalized organisms cause no harm, they live in harmony with their surrounding neighbors. Dandelions are an example of naturalized plants. Perhaps they are unwanted in manicured lawns, however they do not cause harm to local habitats and assist other plants by pulling calcium from the soil and making it available to other plants.
Invasive species, on the other hand, are detrimental to the local ecosystem. The invasive organism has no natural predators. The lack of predators allows them to out-compete native species for limited resources. Their presence alters the local ecosystem. Additionally, invasives will have an economic impact on a region. In 2010 The New Jersey Invasive Species Council estimated the impact of invasive species on agriculture at 290 million dollars a year, and 30 percent of the flora as non-native.
Himalayan Blackberries are taking root throughout the United States, including New Jersey. Originally from Armenia, the plant was brought to the United States in 1894, by Luther Burbank. Advertising the plant in his seed catalogs as the “Himalaya Giant”. This variety creates massive thorny brambles. A new stem, or cane, can grow 13-34 feet (4-10 meters). The cane arches and where it touches the soil it roots itself and starts a new cane, thus creating a dense mass of blackberry bramble.
A dense mass of blackberries sound yummy. Unfortunately, the fruit produced is not that tasty, the cane and leaves have thorns, and it devastates the local ecosystem. The plant has an extensive root system which grows both wide and deep. It accesses water at such a rate that other species cannot compete. The water is stored in the roots and cane ensuring the plant survives drought. The leaf litter and dead canes are highly flammable, adding fuel for wildfires. Seed distribution is made easy as birds, bears and other animals eat the fruits and spread the seeds.
American Black Bears are New Jersey natives. They are the only type of bears living in the state and have been sighted in all twenty-one counties. The fossil record indicated that the black bears have roamed the earth for at least 3.5 million years. Currently there are 750,000 black bears in North America. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) estimates 3,158 live in New Jersey. However, the Animal Protection League of New Jersey disputes that number claiming there are only 1,164. This discrepancy is important because Governor Murphy, based on the NJDEP estimate, has opened two bear hunting sessions for 2023.
The oldest North American fossil of a Black Bear was found at the Port Kennedy Bone Cave located in the Valley Forge National Historical Park, Pennsylvania. A limestone sink hole held the fossils of many Middle Pleistocene Ice Age flora and fauna. According to the article “On the Trail of an Important Ice Age Fossil Deposit“, “Fauna from the site include giant ground sloth, mastodon, tapir, peccary, skunk, short-faced bear, saber-toothed cat, and many other taxa. Site excavations by Wheatley, Cope, and Mercer in the early 1870s and mid-1890s resulted in the collection of more than 1,200 fossils, which today are curated in the vertebrate paleontology and paleobotany collections at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.” In the late 1800’s the site began to flood and was later used as a dumping site for asbestos. The exact location of the Bone Cave was lost until 2005 when Edward B. Daeschler, Matthew C. Lamanna, and Margaret Carfioli rediscovered the location.
Black Bears are thriving and expanding their range in New Jersey. Humans are the largest threat to their existence. Humans need to learn how to properly live in conjunction with these beautiful creatures. New Jersey has an extensive web site dedicated to bears and human interaction NJDEP| Fish & Wildlife | Bears.
Resources
https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.116780
NJ black bear population, complaints double. Here is where (njherald.com)
Bear Group – Animal Protection League of New Jersey (aplnj.org)
The Strange, Twisted Story Behind Seattle's Blackberries : The Salt : NPR
Home - North American Bear CenterNorth American Bear Center
Pleistocene Life and Landscapes—Valley Forge (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)