Marsh plume thistle (Cirsium palustre), listed as a noxious weed in BC’s Central Interior by the Invasive Plant Council of BC, is showing it’s presence in ALRF’s harvest areas. The plant grows in moist locations and competes with native plants and crop trees. A containment program for this purple-flowered plant is currently underway in the Central Interior aimed at preventing its expansion. According to the IPCBC the most effective way to limit the spread of the species is by cutting the plants down before they go to seed. Other methods such as biological controls and herbicides are in development.
Last summer, several harvest areas on the Research Forest were surveyed for invasive plants and several species were found in varying quantities. This provides excellent baseline information to help ALRF monitor increases and decreases in the diversity and abundance of invasive plants and to implement strategies for managing them.