Invasive+Species+-+Japanese+Stiltgrass

At what rate does the invasive species Japanese Stilt Grass grow and in what environments does it do so? **Abstract ** The group's original hypothesis was that the Japanese Stilt Grass would steadily grow throughout the year. However, after collecting our data, the group determined that due to natural causes, Japanese Stilt Grass does not grow throughout the year. In the fall the stilt grass was at its most prominent, however by winter it had decreased. The new plants came again in the spring, and it is safe to assume, from research and personal observations ( how it was the tallest in the fall), that Japanese Stilt Grass continues to grow during the summer and spreads its seeds at this time.
 * __Invasive Species – Japanese Stilt grass__ **

**Introduction ** Every year, Science 11 is required to do a yearlong project infamously named Watershed. Each section of Science 11 is assigned to a certain topic; our section’s focus is invasive species. Our group quickly planned to focus on an extremely invasive species – Purple Loosestrife. Unfortunately for us (but great for Flat Rock Brook), we discovered that Ranger Phil had been trying to exterminate the species for the last couple of years, finally succeeding in total extermination last summer. We quickly changed our focus to a different invasive species named Japanese Stilt Grass ( // Microstegium vimineum) //. While visiting Flat Rock Brook, we noticed that this species seemed to be everywhere. From this observation, we decided to study the rate at which the plant grows and in what environments. **Background ** What is an invasive species? An Invasive species is a species that is not indigenous to the area it is growing in. To be considered an invasive species, it must outnumber the native species. An invasive species can be an animal, a plant, or a different kind of organism. It is likely to cause harm to the new environment it abides in and may displace the native plants. Common names Japanese Stilt Grass, Nepalese Browntop, Asian Stilt Grass, Vietnamese Stilt Grass, Nepal Microstegium, Nepal Grass, and Chinese Packing Grass. Origin Japanese Stilt Grass is native to the Asian countries - Japan, Korea, China, Malaysia and India. History Japanese Stilt Grass was first documented in Tennessee around 1919. Stilt Grass may have accidentally escaped as a result of its use as a packing material for porcelain in Asia. [1] Description Japanese Stilt Grass can be identified by its pale green thin leaves that can grow up to three inches long. The leaves have reflective hairs, making them feel soft. The plant can grow up to three feet tall, but the size commonly varies from ½ to 2 ft.  Reproduction and methods of Dispersion A single plant typically produces 100 - 1,000 seeds. The seeds remain visible in the soil for 3 – 5 years and are spread by humans, animals, weather, and water. [2] Threat Japanese Stilt Grass is able to adapt to a variety of conditions; it can grow in open, shaded, dry, or wet areas. Stilt Grass spreads in dense patches, displacing the native plants that cannot compete with it. It grows quickly, especially in moist or rich soils and wetlands. Control Japanese Stilt Grass is a shallow rooted plant; therefore, it can easily be pulled out of the ground. The plant should be pulled out (or whacked out) when they are in full bloom in late summer before the plants produce seeds. Japanese Stilt Grass can also be controlled by chemicals, including glyphosate. In wet areas, wetland formulations are needed for control. [3] It is important to remove the plant quickly because in order to prevent it from spreading, you must make sure you remove the plant before its seeds spread. Distribution in the United States Japanese Stilt Grass is most commonly found in the east coast as an invasive species. It has been found in 16 eastern states, from New York to Florida. [|http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MIVI

Classification [4] //Microstegium// //vimineum// (Trin.) A. Camus
 * Kingdom || [|//Plantae//] – Plants ||
 * Subkingdom || [|//Tracheobionta//] – Vascular plants ||
 * Superdivision || [|//Spermatophyta//] – Seed plants ||


 * Division || [|//Magnoliophyta//] – Flowering plants ||
 * Class || [|//Liliopsida//] – Monocotyledons ||
 * Subclass || [|//Commelinidae//] ||
 * Order || [|//Cyperales//] ||
 * Family || [|//Poaceae//] – Grass family ||
 * Genus || [|//Microstegium//][| Nees] – browntop ||
 * Species || [|//Microstegium//] [|//vimineum//][| (Trin.) A. Camus] – Nepalese browntop ||

**Materials ** ~ Measuring Tape (centimeters) ~ Magellan Explorer 400 GPS ~ Canon Power Shot G9 Camera **Methods ** In order to determine the rate at which Japanese Stilt Grass grows, one must first travel to Flat Rock Brook. Once there, with measuring tape and a GPS in hand, one must map out the various areas in Flat Rock Brook that contain said Stilt Grass. One should measure the height of the Stilt Grass in these patches and record it. One should first measure the stalks. One must then come back months later and measure the same stalk again. One should do this for all of the areas, and using this information, one can determine the amount the plant grew. One should measure the lengths of the leaves of the Stilt Grass. Then one should measure both the width of the area of the Stilt Grass as well as the width of the area without the Stilt Grass. One should do this in the three different seasons to get the best results. One must use the measurements to see how much the plant grew in past months. ** Results **

__**FIGURE 1.**__ __**FIGURE 2.**__



**Discussion ** Our hypothesis for our project was that throughout the year, Japanese Stilt Grass would slowly grow and continuously spread if untouched. After ranger Mark showed us some areas where Japanese Stilt Grass was located, we measured the area the plant was growing in, the height of the plant, the length of a leaf, and the small patches in which the plant had not yet spread to. We repeated the same procedures in three different areas; Meadow One, Meadow Two, and the location off the white trail (all of which can be seen in figure one). In Meadow One and Two, we measured the height of one specific Japanese Stilt Grass plant in the fall in both meadows that were open in the sun and dry areas. When we revisited in the winter, the plants were drying and dying out from the cold conditions. The plants had grown a little from our last visit so we measured the plant. In the spring, all the old plants had died and new ones were sprouting; therefore, in our data, there is a significant drop between the winter and spring data because we measured the new growing ones (drop can be seen in figure two). Off of the White trail, which is a shady wetland area, there were only a few random Japanese Stilt Grass plants, so when we came back in the spring, there were barely any new sprouts to measure. After measuring the height of the plants, we measured a leaf from the plant. The leaves of the plants were dying in the winter just as the actual plant was; therefore the third section of data is from the new sprout. For our project, not only did we not want to measure and compare the rate of the plant’s growth, we wanted to see how fast the plant spread. First, we measured the width of the large patches in the meadows and the small off trail patch. It was difficult to measure the width of the large meadow patches, and since there were so many plants almost piling up on each other, it seemed the species spreading into the meadows, making the meadows denser, as appose to spreading out into the open areas. The patch off the white trail was only but one or two plants, therefore there was barely any readable difference for its spread during the ineffective seasons. After we measured the width of the plant patches, we noticed there were some areas in the meadows in which no plants were located in. We measured these empty patches to see if they would shrink as the plants spread (because the plants were starting to take over the small patches anyways). We were unable to do these measurements for the small patch off of the White trail because there are not enough Japanese Stilt Grass plants located in that area (for the time being). We discovered that the empty patches did slowly shrink, and the plant spread to that area. **Conclusion ** As a group, we concluded that our hypothesis was incorrect. During our mid-winter visits, we found that Japanese Stilt Grass had died. The plant was still there; however, it was dried up and had turned brown. When we returned in the spring we found new plants sprouting. We also discovered that Japanese Stilt Grass grew about the same amount in shaded areas as it did in areas that receive direct sunlight. Also, Meadow One is much more open and empty then Meadow Two, which is densely populated with all different plants, however Japanese Stilt Grass grew about the same amount in both meadows. Throughout out study, we also concluded that Japanese Stilt Grass is extremely harmful to the other plants growing around it. Each time we visited, Japanese Stilt Grass had spread and taken over bigger areas. As it spread it killed the native plants growing in the same area. **Pictures **

**__note: we meant last trip, hannahs fault__**

. [1] http://www.nps.gov/plants/ALIEN/fact/mivi1.htm [2] http://www.paflora.org/Microstegium%20vimineum.pdf [3] http://www.se-eppc.org/pubs/kudzu_yam_micro.pdf

[4] http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MIVI ** References ** ~ http://www.nps.gov/plants/ALIEN/fact/mivi1.htm

~ http://www.se-eppc.org/pubs/kudzu_yam_micro.pdf

~ http://www.paflora.org/Microstegium%20vimineum.pdf

~ http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MIVI

~ http://www.naturepreserves.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/E88BEB3C-8B2A-4F47-A3E8-BFCB968CEC4E/0/facts_microstegium_vimineum.pdf

~ http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/2529.htm

~ http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/Forestry/invasivetutorial/Japanese_stiltgrass_M_C.htm

~ http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/esadocs/documnts/micrvim.pdf

~ http://www.umsteadcoalition.org/Stilt%20grass%20brochure%205-18-04.pdf