Community invasive removal examples

The problem

An area of invasive vines, mostly Chinese porcelain berry, overtaking the meadow and open woodland area of an easement on our property, affecting some 20 native trees.

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Treatment

Initial Phase

In spring 2024 we put the plan into action, contracting with J&J Landscape Management to apply a forestry grinder to the meadow area, hand-cut vines strangling trees, and apply an herbicide to the meadow area.

 

The area saw an immediate beneficial rebound, with native milkweed and native blackberry both sprouting anew. The trees are growing healthier though it will take longer for the old vines to fall out and give them the air they need. 

 

Second Phase

In late August we applied a second round of herbicide to the vines that rebounded after the initial phase. This represents the last round of broad herbicide application we will employ, although targeted spraying is possible. In early September J&J Landscaping Management bush hogged the area with targeted herbicide application where needed.

 

By the end of September resident volunteers will sow a mixture of native wildflower seed and compost over the meadow portion of the area and nip any vines creeping up trees.

 

Costs

Volunteer time: 60.5 hours

Contractor: $11,540 ($3,000 from a mini-grant from the Northern Virginia Bird Alliance, funded by the Fairfax Tree Planting and Preservation Fund)

Seeds: $556

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Future management

We hope to have a successful spring germination of the seeds in spring 2025, and based on that develop a third phase to continue rehabilitation of the area. This phase will likely include additional wildflower seed, vine cutting/maintenance, and planting of native trees and beneficial native flora. We will use Nancy Lawson's "How to Fight Plants with Plants" (handout guide attached) to help guide some of our plantings. 

 

Challenges

The future success of this project hinges on persistent and strategic management. Adjacent (and beloved) woods controlled by Fairfax County and peripheral zones belonging to the neighboring community are also overtaken with various invasives, including porcelain berry, japanese honeysuckle, and multiflora rose. The peripheral zones of the project will therefore need examination and treatment on an ongoing basis. In addition, the decade-plus during which the vines were allowed to grow leaves us with established roots and a seed bank that will only diminish with time and continued attention. 

 

Ecological Benefit

We have seen an immediate improvement in tree health with a flourish of new tree- and beneficial species-growth once the invasive vines were cut. The summer drought was hard on the area, as we have no irrigation method on the easement. However we did not have any tree loss. This project has benefited twenty native trees including: eastern white pine, native cherry, tulip poplar, mulberry, sycamore, black walnut, black locust and red maple.

 

We have seen an increase in butterflies and various bee species. Late this spring our open woodland hosted migratory birds we have not observed prior to this action: blue grosbeaks and rose-breasted grosbeaks, and vireos. We also had a stronger bluebird and phoebe population than seen in previous years, which hopefully means insects have benefited. We hope future endeavors to rehabilitate this area will see an increase in other bird and pollinator species.

 

Educational Outreach

We distributed some 95 door hangers throughout the community and a few to neighbors from adjacent communities. 

 

We distributed stickers at our community-wide spring clean-up event where participants also had the chance to hear about the project and assist in clearing the area of trash and cutting more vines.

 

The association presented on the project at our Annual Meeting in May  We also notified the community via our website and newsletters. 

 

As someone who is active in the wider community, I personally spoke with many individuals from our neighboring residential communities who were curious, and they were very excited about the project (and extremely relieved it was not a site for a new construction!).