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UrduNew Brunswick, N.J. (June 10, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Michele Bakacs is available for interviews on invasive exotic plants in New Jersey that are growing out of control, overrunning forests and other natural areas. She can discuss why this has happened, the impact on New Jersey flora and fauna and what people can do to help.
These plants have been introduced by accident or intentionally, such as through ornamental plantings.
“Invasive exotic plants are a threat to New Jersey forests and other natural areas because they have no predators or competitors to help keep them in check. Deer, which do not eat them, decimate native plant communities, leaving behind exotic invasive plants that do not support wildlife in New Jersey’s food webs,” said Bakacs, an associate professor and agriculture & natural resources agent with Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County, which is part of Rutgers’ New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. “There are some popular ornamental plants that either are widespread or are emerging as invasive. Homeowners often don’t realize these plants are a problem because they don’t see them spreading in their own yards. However, the seeds often are carried by birds and the plants are quietly invading local forest habitats.”
“Homeowners can do their part by avoiding plants like Barberry, Winged Burning Bush, Linden Viburnum and Butterfly Bush and instead choose from the many native alternatives,” she said. “They include Northern Bayberry (Morella pensylvanica), Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica), possumhaw (Viburnum nudum), Milkweed (Asclepias sp.) and Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum). Having diverse native plants in your yard helps support pollinators throughout their life cycles and provides food, habitat and nesting sites for birds, butterflies and other wildlife.”
A recording of a recent “Plant this, Not that: Protecting New Jersey from invasive plants” webinar by Bakacs is on the Earth Day at Home website: https://envirostewards.rutgers.edu/EarthDayatHome2020.html
To interview Professor Bakacs and get a “Plant this, Not that: Protecting New Jersey from invasive plants” PDF, contact Todd Bates at [email protected]
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Broadcast interviews: Rutgers University has broadcast-quality TV and radio studios available for remote live or taped interviews with Rutgers experts.
ABOUT RUTGERS—NEW BRUNSWICK
Rutgers University–New Brunswick is where Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, began more than 250 years ago. Ranked among the world’s top 60 universities, Rutgers’s flagship is a leading public research institution and a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. It has an internationally acclaimed faculty, 12 degree-granting schools and the Big Ten Conference’s most diverse student body.
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