The Motlow Buzz: Invasive Species in Stones River National Battlefield

By Smyrna Motlow Student

Stones River National Battlefield is part of the National Park service and is currently being taken over by invasive plant species. The main purpose of this park is to preserve the historical value of this important conflict of the Battle of Stones River for future generations, as a marker so that we do not forget how this country came to be. As well as having the goal of cultural preservation, the park is concerned with biological preservation as well. The main focus of the Natural Resource department, the branch of the park I work under, is being able to eradicate the invasive species that have taken over the landscape of the battlefield. I am lucky enough myself to work weekly on this battlefield, spending most of my Saturdays restoring the landscape to its native state and recreating the accurate background of the site so visitors can see how the land actually looked during 1862. Invasive species are a continuous problem for an undertaking such as this and, in turn, require a considerable amount of funds to keep in check. According to the NPS website, “Besides being one of the main components of the numerous communities in the park, plants are one of the key features of the cultural landscapes at Stones River National Battlefield.”

Due to immigration and urbanization, Murfreesboro, along with the rest of the middle Tennessee area, has a problem with invasive species, mainly from Asia. Our climate in the southeast is very similar to that of regions of China, making it easier for invasive plants from that region of the world to colonize and dominate Tennessee. Since these plants do not have any native predators, they thrive here and inadvertently make it extremely difficult for native species to grow, thus killing the natural biodiversity. On top of this, these species were not in the landscape during the civil war, only having made their way here during the early 1900s. Because they are present, the landscape of the battlefield is not an accurate representation of what the soldiers would have seen during the time of the fighting.

Chinese privet, Japanese honeysuckle, and bush honeysuckle are the main issues in the park, although smaller, less troublesome species have established themselves as well. Every week, rangers and volunteers both go out to different sections of the property and use various methods in an attempt to kill off these plants. Most of the progress is slow, but noticeable over the span of several years. Since some of these plants have seeds that can be dormant for several seasons, and then germinate when the time is right, it will take several rounds of treatment- sometimes spanning years- before a single area is free of its colossal thickets of privet.

One popular method of treatment that we often use is the “cut-n-stump”. This involves going out into the grove of interest and cutting down the plants one by one, while spraying the stump with herbicides to prevent anything from sprouting again. Though it is time-consuming and tedious, it makes an effective dent in the work that still needs to be completed. After a season, we will go back into the area with backpacks full of the same type of herbicide and spray any plants that have popped up during the year. Sometimes this treatment will need to be repeated a couple of times for the full effect. Once the undesirable species are eradicated, then volunteers working within the park service will come back and replant native species into the area, since they now have a chance to grow and thrive. All of these efforts come together to bring back the natural biodiversity of the Murfreesboro area and the battlefield itself.

The park service is always looking for more volunteers to help with this problem, and every hour helps. To get involved with the Stones River Battlefield, or any of the national parks, you can visit http://www.nps.gov/getinvolved/volunteer.htm for more information.