Conservation Tools

In simple terms, this book connects the dots and makes it clear that increasing native insect biomass with native plants is the glue that holds together the web of life in the homemade habitat. Available at most book retail sources.

Provides information on the history of the FAQAI, and the development and use of CCs

See pages 6-7 for discussion of sampling timing on Mean C and FQA Index scores.

Provides information on the history of the FAQAI, and the development and use of CCs

Two-page fact sheet that includes a description of invasive vines; how they are introduced to an area; why they are a threat to forests, birds, and other wildlife; invasive vines in Pennsylvania; their impact on the ecology of natural areas; how landowners can control and eliminate them; and native alternatives.

Example of comprehensive state database of plants; where to turn to learn whether a species is native or introduced and where in the state it has been found. Also used for plant identification.

Evaluation of floristic quality assessment as a potentially an important tool for conservation efforts in the northern Great Plains of North America.

Applications of this system include the identification of remnant habitats of native floristic significance, comparisons between different sites, long-term monitoring of floristic quality, monitoring the progress of habitat restoration, and the use of National Wetland Categories to assist in identification of wetlands. The MDNR is using the same quality assessment system that Floyd Swink and Gerould Wilhelm used for the Chicago Region.

This website has lists of Pennsylvania invasive plants and landscaping suggestions that are alternatives to using invasive plants.

A book full of colorful photographs that profiles common invasive plants (national) and the native alternatives to take their place.

A newsletter article focused on ornamental grasses in Pennsylvania.

fact sheet on natives

The list contains information about plant species native to Pennsylvania that are suitable for use in BMPs. The list is sorted by plant type and then by scientific name. The table also contains information helpful for designing a planting plan for a successful BMP.

This is the current version of the book. The 1979 version is also recommended, and used copies can be found from online book sellers.

The book analyzes the factors that shape an invader s progress through four stages: arriving through one of many possible ports of entry, reaching a threshold of survival, thriving through proliferation and geographic spread, and ultimate impact on the organism s new environment. The book also reviews approaches to predicting whether a species will become an invader as well as the more complex challenge of predicting and measuring its impact on the environment, a process involving value judgments and risk assessment. This detailed analysis will be of interest to policymakers, plant scientists, agricultural producers, environmentalists, and public agencies concerned with invasive plant and plant pest species.

An in-depth breakdown of plant communities found in Pennsylvania specific to particular physiographic regions.

This vol. is the first published product of the Pennsylvania Flora Database, created & maintained at the Morris Arboretum of the Univ. of Pennsylvania. The database has its roots in the work of Edgar T. Wherry, John M. Fogg, Jr., & Herbert A. Wahl, the “Atlas of the Flora of Pennsylvania”, published by the Morris Arboretum. Over a period of 40 years, Wherry & his colleagues gathered data from the major Pennsylvania herbaria & manually placed a quarter of a million dots on over 3500 maps. The Pennsylvania Flora Database retains the emphasis on specimen-based, site-specific data. The checklist of included taxa has undergone extensive review to reflect recent taxonomic & nomenclatural revisions. Questionable specimens have been re-evaluated with the result that several taxa included in earlier works were dropped. Recent discoveries have been added & distribution data has been updated. This vol. also includes collections made in the 1990s in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory (PNDI), the state heritage program. The maps present the accumulated collection of information for each taxon as represented in the herbaria. Illus., reprinted 1996.

Todd, the recipient of the PEN/Jerard Award for this book while it was a work-in-progress, recounts how some of the approximately 4,500 exotic insects, mammals, and plants have been introduced to North America, occasionally for the better (such as with the Vedalia ladybug)—but more often wreaking destruction on native species.

A partnership between the National Park Service and the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health at University of Georgia, this website has a profile of hundreds of invasive plants with pictures, maps of where they are found, and links to other websites with information about their control.