INVASIVE SPECIES THREAT TO WETLANDS
The Toronto Star recently published this article about the growing threat of the invasive species "phragmites" on wetland areas. Sam Smith Park visitors will have noticed that this plant is now present in our own wetlands, displacing native bulrushes.
This poses, for example,
problems for nesting Red Winged Blackbirds who find the long, slender reeds too weak to support nest building.
Click on article title below to read more and to see the Conservation Authority's response to the issue.
The invasive species crowds out native
vegetation that waterfowl and shorebirds use for food and shelter,
threatening to put a dent in the birder's paradise .....
Phragmites australis, known as "phrag", has spread rapidly along shorelines in Ontario and crowds out native growth .....
Feasting on
moisture, the plant proliferates in wetlands and marshes, along
lakeshores, and in the disturbed soil bordering highways .....
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