Japanese Barberry Control Workshop Review

Jeff Ward, Chief Forester CT Ag. Exp. Station (CAES) and
wearing white ball cap with plaid-flannel at left,
introduces the topics that will be discussed during the workshop.

Yesterday was a great day to spend some time in the woods with a few experts to learn about how to control Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) in forest ecosystems.  A total of 32 people attended the workshop, some traveling from a far distance while most were from nearby communities.  Participants included natural resource professionals, land trust stewards, students, and other concerned citizens who manage forested property that is affected by Japanese Barberry.  Japanese Barberry is an invasive exotic shrub that forms dense stands under forest canopies.  Participants observed how these dense stands encourage the density of black-legged ticks, a.k.a. deer tick, (Ixodes scapularis) that are infected with the spirochete that causes Lyme Disease (Borellia burgdorferii).  The investigators have also found that dense Japanese Barberry stands may also influence drinking water quality by the plant's ability to increase nitrification and decrease the leaf litter layer.  Nitrification is a process of adding nitrogen to the soil and a healthy leaf litter layer discourages soil erosion.  The lack of leaf litter increases erosion thereby adding more nitrogen to the water supply, this in turn encourages plankton/algal blooms and other aquatic plant outbreaks.  Japanese Barberry stands have also been associated with lower native tree regeneration, fewer herbaceous plant cover (wildflowers), and increased earthworm densities.

I'm sure most of you understand that there is a problem when anything negatively 

influences native trees and plants, but earthworms!  

What's wrong with earthworms?!  

Earthworms are not native to southern New England soils because our landscape was covered by glaciers only 15,000 years ago and these 1 mile thick ice blocks prevented earthworms from colonizing our soils.  Although earthworms might be considered a positive thing in your garden, they are not a good thing in forests.  Earthworms consume the leaf litter layer at an astonishing rate, which as you already know the lack of a healthy leaf litter layer encourages soil erosion.  This workshop was a real lesson in forest ecology!

The principle investigators of this project are Jeff Ward (CAES), Scott Williams (CAES), Thomas Worthley (UCONN Coop. Ext.), and J. P. Barskey (CAES).  They have discovered that managing Japanese Barberry is at least a two-step procedure.  First, the healthy barberry shrub needs to be treated with herbicide, prescribed burning, propane torch, or is cut down with a mechanical method.  After the plant sends up new shoots the following growing season, a second treatment is required by using a propane torch or herbicide.  Safety equipment and considerations, costs of equipment, materials, and labor were also discussed.  Further evidence was provided demonstrating that infected tick density decreases after these treatments are applied.  As well as, evidence that showed how Japanese Barberry responded if the second treatment was not applied, it returns with gusto!

In the following images you can see the various methods that were demonstrated by Mike Short (CAES Technician) during this workshop, but also notice that the orange-red hue in the forest understory, all of this is Japanese Barberry!

Walk behind self propelled brush mower.

Brush Saw

Star brush blade on a brush saw.

Yellow heart wood of a mulched Japanese Barberry shrub.

Jeff Ward demonstrates the use of a propane torch burning Japanese Barberry clumps to kill buds.  

Japanese Barberry Control Workshop Announcement

Click Here to View a Printable Flyer

Invasive plant species including Japanese Barberry have been found to increase the risk of exposure to Lyme Disease.  Controlling Japanese Barberry can reduce the risk of exposure to Lyme Disease while also increasing growing space for native wildflowers and tree seedlings.  

During this workshop, you will learn techniques for an integrated program of invasive plant control in forest understories including: treatment techniques (flame weeding, mechanical control, herbicide application), site evaluation, time estimations for treatments, and field safety.  There will be a hands-on demonstration of techniques and equipment.  

Instructors:  Jeffrey Ward (CAES), Thomas Worthley (UCONN - Coop. Ext.), J. P. Barsky (CAES)

Date:  Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Place:  White Memorial Foundation, Point Folly Campground Entrance on N. Shore Rd., Litchfield, CT along Bantam Lake.

Time:  10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Workshop is Free of Charge

Pre-Registration Required

Space is Limited, Register Early

Contact Thomas Worthley

Pre-Register or for more information

(860) 345-5232, thomas.worthley@uconn.edu

CEU Credits Approved for this Course include: CT Certified Forest Practitioner (1.0 hours)

3 credits for Forest Pest Control (2), Ornamentals and Turf (3A), Rights-of-Way (6)

Controlling Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) in Forested Ecosystems

Japanese Barberry is a highly invasive shrub that forms dense stands under forest canopies.

Gasoline powered weed whackers with brush blades are used to cut
Japanese Barberry when growing densely under a forest canopy. 

Skilled hands and tough equipment turn an invasive shrub into a pile of mulch.

A cooperative investigation between CT Agriculture Experiment Station and UCONN Cooperative Extension is demonstrating the methods and materials of controlling Japanese Barberry in forested ecosystems.  The use of mechanical, chemical, and direct burning has proven an effective strategy at controlling this highly invasive plant.  The investigators are treating a 2-acre stand on Wheeler Hill and will be facilitating workshops for land managers and owners so that they can use the same methods for controlling Japanese Barberry on their own properties.  This project is lead by Jeffrey Ward, Scott Williams, J. P. Barsky of the CAES and Thomas Worthley of UCONN Cooperative Extension.  For more information about this project and to view a series of videos click here.