Noxious Weeds and the Ecosystem
A healthy environment or ecosystem will be made up of Plants, Trees, Grasses, and Wildlife that have grown together for long periods of time (sometimes thousands of years).
Over that time they have adapted to each other, and their environment including the microbial soil life. They are all within a balanced sphere, with no real dominating species.
Everything is getting along including the wildlife.
Noxious Weeds are plants that have recently established in an ecosystem throwing off that balance and having a negative impact on the components of the environment.
They can use more resources like water, leaving less for the native plants, and they can start to fade… those plants may have been food source for a particular animal, and that species suffers and sometimes declines.
They can make land unusable for agriculture or grazing. They came also raise the risk of wildfires.
An imbalance can cause some pests to overrun a native landscape. Voles populations can be a direct result of Noxious Weeds like Thistle.
Thistle can make an area uninhabitable by valuable predators (fox and coyotes) that would normally keep the rodent population in check. The areas become avoided, and the Voles take over.
Eventually the Vole damage can contribute to erosion and the entire area can be destroyed in very little time.
The State of Utah (like most in the Rocky Mountains) made control mandatory.
Noxious Weeds by law must be treated. It’s something thats in everyones best interest…
Especially if you have any native areas.
Noxious Weeds can be controlled by using both Synthetic and Organic Herbicides, depending on your preference.
Give us a call and we can get you the help you may need.
