ceilidhtheofrastous
eco photo 1
I went home to Asheville, NC, this weekend and took a walk on the nature trail by my mom's house. This photo was taken at around 10am this morning. What you see above is an Eastern climbing ivy vine (Toxicodendron radicans) going up a tree. During the summer, there would usually poison ivy leaves sprouting from the branch, but you will only see the red roots during the winter time. As we all know, poison ivy is a pest not only for us, but for the trees it grows on. The vines themselves can cause many structural issues for the tree, especially if the vines capture more wind or snow. The added pressure can cause trees to fall to the ground. As I was walking, I saw several trees that had fallen because of poison ivy vines.While poison ivy has many significant drawbacks, it is important to many organisms in the local ecosystem. Animals like white-tailed deer and raccoons consume the leaves for food, and some toads may need it for shelter. This just goes to show that even species that may be pests will also most likely play a very important role in the ecology of other organisms.
References:
midwesternplants.org/2015/02/25/vines-growing-on-trees-go...
bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2010/ferris_jaco/Poison_Ivy/Inter...
eco photo 1
I went home to Asheville, NC, this weekend and took a walk on the nature trail by my mom's house. This photo was taken at around 10am this morning. What you see above is an Eastern climbing ivy vine (Toxicodendron radicans) going up a tree. During the summer, there would usually poison ivy leaves sprouting from the branch, but you will only see the red roots during the winter time. As we all know, poison ivy is a pest not only for us, but for the trees it grows on. The vines themselves can cause many structural issues for the tree, especially if the vines capture more wind or snow. The added pressure can cause trees to fall to the ground. As I was walking, I saw several trees that had fallen because of poison ivy vines.While poison ivy has many significant drawbacks, it is important to many organisms in the local ecosystem. Animals like white-tailed deer and raccoons consume the leaves for food, and some toads may need it for shelter. This just goes to show that even species that may be pests will also most likely play a very important role in the ecology of other organisms.
References:
midwesternplants.org/2015/02/25/vines-growing-on-trees-go...
bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2010/ferris_jaco/Poison_Ivy/Inter...