Garlic Mustard Invasion

Garlic Mustard Facts

• Native to Europe, garlic mustard was introduced to the east coast around 150 years ago
  
• Since then, it has aggressively invaded forest understories as it has spread westward
  
• Once established at a site, this species has the potential to displace native understory plants and interfere with the growth of tree seedlings
  
• Garlic mustard produces toxic chemicals that can enter the soil, inhibiting the germination of native seeds and killing off beneficial soil fungi that many native plants need to grow

 

Project Background

Researchers at the Illinois Natural History Survey have been studying how garlic mustard is able to outcompete native plants, and what can be done to encourage native plant growth in invaded forests.

One surprising result they have found is that garlic mustard’s invasive ability is quite variable from place to place. It turns out that different populations of the invader make differing quantities of their toxic chemicals. In addition, different species of soil fungi vary in their susceptibility to the chemicals.

Understanding this variation could help land managers and restoration ecologists better combat this invader by helping prioritize their eradication efforts on high-impact garlic mustard populations.

 

How Can You Help?

We are asking interested school classrooms, clubs, or individuals to help us map and understand the geographic variation in garlic mustard invasions around the state by performing two standardized experiments on their local garlic mustard population.

By combining data from collaborators around the state, we will achieve an in-depth understanding of where this invasion is strong and where it is weak, which will help land managers to prioritize their resources to combat this invasion.

All materials necessary for both experiments will be provided by the Survey, except for collections you will make from your own nearby garlic mustard population. Both experiments involve a relatively minimal time investment for any one group, but combined across the state will provide an unprecedented data set.

Interested in helping collect this data? Continue to the next page for more information!