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Autumn Rane

Dr. Aleta Quinn

PHIL 452

December 7, 2023

Introduced Plants in Urban Areas

When I think about plants in an urban landscape, I often picture a big park in the middle of a

bustling city. This park might consist of exotic flowers, creeping vines, and large bushes to promote

habitat for wildlife within the city. At first glance, big parks and nature centers in urban areas may seem

like a relaxing and aesthetically pleasing idea. After doing further research into introduced plants in

urban areas, I have come to the conclusion that in certain cases they can be highly detrimental to the

local ecosystems and cause lasting damage to the surrounding plant species.

I was particularly interested in the Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute (PCEI) Nature

Center as it is just down the street from my house. Nature centers have always been a special place for

me as I spent a lot of time in the local nature center of my hometown during the long summer days of

my childhood. I find that nature centers are a place to slow down and step away from the busy life that

exists within the city. The PCEI Nature Center consists of 26.2 acres of trails, a nursery, and a learning

center. The trail travels from an arid, desert landscape into a wet, marshy landscape as you walk further

into the nature center. There are plenty of native species along the trails, as well as some introduced

species along the way. As I was inquiring further into the specific plant species that are found within the

nature center, I found that many of the species were introduced. I hoped to dive deeper into the

introduced species that exist within the nature center, and their impact on the surrounding native

environment.
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To further understand the types and abundance of species within the nature center, I consulted

the app ‘iNaturalist’. iNaturalist is an app that allows everyday citizens to take pictures of individual

organisms that can later be identified by other “citizen-scientists”. The app then keeps a log of all the

species identified in an area for other citizen-scientists to consult. This app is extremely helpful to gain

insight into popular or common species within any given area. I outlined the area that encompasses the

nature center to see how many species had been observed within that area. Overall, there were 54 plant

species observed in the area. 29 of the observed species were introduced, while 25 species were native.

I was quite shocked after learning this information, as I had assumed that more of the species within the

nature center would be native rather than introduced. I inquired further into each specific introduced

species to find whether they were invasive or simply introduced.

Of the 29 introduced species, I found that 3 of them were invasive. The 3 observed invasive species were

Goutweed, Reed Canary Grass, and Field Pennycress. Goutweed and Reed Canary Grass are two

common but highly invasive species in North Idaho. Goutweed has strong roots and rhizomes that can

easily overpower other plant roots. They are highly invasive as they are very difficult to eradicate, and

they outcompete most other plants in the landscape. Their roots can easily regrow after being cut, much

like the knotweed that was previously mentioned. Goutweed quickly and efficiently takes over forest

landscapes if left alone as it is very tolerant of most environmental conditions. Goutweed was likely

brought to America by settlers as a medicinal treatment, that was later incorporated into gardens as a

groundcover. From there, it likely took off (Blackburn, 2020). Reed Canary Grass is a highly invasive plant

that easily overpowers and outcompetes the native plants within the habitat it inhabits. Reed Canary

Grass quickly creates a monoculture, where they are the only species present as they completely

encompass the soils around them and push out other species. They have very strong and thick roots,

which make them very difficult to remove (Gupta, 2022). Both plants are exceptional at pushing out

native species and completely outcompeting all native plant species for resources.
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As I was completing research about the specific introduced species in the nature center, I had many

thoughts concerning the presence of introduced species in urban areas. It becomes very easy to

overlook the impacts of each specific species when planting in urban areas. Personally, I have spent

countless hours shopping for decorative plants to place around my yard without ever considering

whether each plant was native or what impacts it may have on a new environment. I can only imagine

that the process of professional landscapers is not much different than mine when planting decorative

plants in urban settings. Landscapers and homeowners might not do the necessary research to fully

understand the effects that the plants they wish to grow might have on the surrounding environment. As

mentioned before, invasive species have the ability to completely alter an entire ecosystem and the

species that live within it.

Once an invasive species is planted and established, it is very difficult to remove. “Urban

ecosystems are not only key points of entry for many non-native species but are also foci for secondary

release or escape into surrounding landscapes,” (Gaertner, 2017). Although invasive species may not be

added directly to a natural environment, they pose a huge threat when introduced adjacent to one.

Animals, wind, water, and humans are all ways that seeds can be transported to different places from an

original spot. Although it may seem easy to contain introduced species in a controlled environment, it

becomes nearly impossible when outside factors are considered. Transplanting introduced or invasive

species, whether invasive or not, from an urban environment to a natural ecosystem can have drastic

negative effects on the entire ecosystem.

Throughout this semester, I was introduced to a plethora of new ideas surrounding ethics and

the environment. I was left questioning my own environmental ethics and spent many hours debating

where I stood on current and past issues that questioned environmental ethics. I thought a lot about the

ethics surrounding introduced plants in urban areas prior to my presentation and writing this paper.
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Specifically, I considered the idea of biocentrism and how we as humans could start moving towards a

biocentric society instead of the anthropocentric society we currently operate. Paul Taylor explains this

idea in his paper titled “The Ethics of Respect for Nature”. Taylor explains that as humans we have a

moral obligation to respect the well-being of the individuals within an ecosystem. ““[…] autonomous

agents subscribe to the principles of moral consideration and intrinsic value and so conceive of wild

living things as having that kind of worth, such agents are adopting a certain ultimate moral attitude

toward the natural world. This is the attitude I call “respect for nature”,” (Taylor, 1981). He argues that it

is impossible to have respect for an entire ecosystem as an ecosystem isn’t technically a being itself. I’m

conflicted with this argument because although I agree that individuals deserve respect morally, I also

think that an entire ecosystem should be considered. In this particular case, the entire ecosystem takes

such a massive toll when invasive species are introduced, and the well-being of an invasive species as a

whole is not really threatened when it is removed from an environment.

When combating the issue of introducing non-native plant species into native ecosystems using

Taylor’s idea of biocentrism and respect for nature, it seems that understanding the negative impacts the

introduced species may have on the native ecosystems is the best way to show respect for the

individuals with the ecosystems. Performing a deep inquiry into each species before introducing them

into a native habitat is the best way to prevent invasive, non-native species from being introduced and

altering native habitats. I have considered how I could personally help combat this issue and promote

native plants in urban areas. I have found that planting yards that consist completely of native ground

cover species and native flowers can be very beneficial to native wildlife species. Native grass and ground

cover typically take less water to maintain than an introduced species, which would also be a benefit to

homeowners when planting native species in urban yards.

Throughout this project, I considered my personal impact on the native habitats surrounding our

urban areas, and what I could do to help prevent introduced/non-native species from entering them. I

considered the ethics surrounding introduced plants in urban areas, and how I could use my personal

ethic as a resource to further understand the issue as a whole. I think as humans we have a moral

obligation to do right by and respect the natural and native ecosystems that surround our busy and

bustling urban environments.

Works Cited

Blackburn, Joni. “Weed of the Month: Goutweed.” Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 2020,

www.bbg.org/article/weed_of_the_month_goutweed.

Gaertner, Mirijam, et al. “Non-Native Species in Urban Environments: Patterns, Processes, Impacts and

Challenges - Biological Invasions.” SpringerLink, Springer International Publishing, 24 Oct. 2017,

link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-017-1598-7.

Gupta, Angela. “Reed Canary Grass.” Extension at the University of Minnesota, 2022,

extension.umn.edu/identify-invasive-species/reed-canary-grass.

Taylor, Paul W. “The Ethics of Respect for Nature.” Environmental Ethics, 1981, pp. 197–218.