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Nitrogen and Buckthorn? Yes,
they’re related issues.
Posted on August 1, 2016 by Julie Drennen
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For those of you who aren’t familiar with buckthorn, it’s
an invasive tree (some consider it to be a shrub) that is
all but impossible to get rid of. It is considered “invasive”
because it’s not native to North America, and because of
its ability to crowd out native trees, plants and
completely dominate a landscape. Buckthorn’s ability to
grow fast and crowd out other plants happens for two
main reasons. First, its leaves and stems are not
desirable to grazing animals and second, it loves soil
that is saturated with nitrogen.
Prairie planting site in the South Washington
Nitrogen receives a lot of public attention in rural,
Conservation Corridor, Woodbury – by Julie Drennen
agricultural areas, but I’ve noticed people don’t talk
about it much in the suburban areas where I work. This
makes sense considering East Metro water bodies are typically more affected by phosphorus than nitrogen.
However, excess nitrogen remains in many areas that were once farmed.
I hadn’t considered the land effects of nitrogen until I visited the South Washington Conservation Corridor in
Woodbury as part of a volunteer event with Great River Greening. This volunteer event involved planting native
plants to help the landscape develop more flowers for pollinators and a deeper root system to combat land erosion.
As I was planting little nodding onions in the old farm field, I noticed a large patch of buckthorn in a low-lying area.
Our ecology guide for the day informed us that buckthorn loves this area because they are very tolerant of high
nitrogen levels in the soil. Long ago, when the Southern portion of Washington County was farmed and nitrogenrich fertilizer was used broadly, stormwater runoff brought excess nitrogen down into low-lying areas where it
accumulated to toxic levels.
Most plants get sick if there’s too much nitrogen in an area because it encourages the plant to put all of its energy
into growing leaves, so the energy for developing roots and flowers becomes limited. This then destabilizes the plant
and makes it unable to spread seeds. Excess nitrogen also acts like a salt and dehydrates the soil, causing plants to
wilt and turn brown. Buckthorn, on the other hand, tolerates high nitrogen levels and even thrives in them because it
doesn’t have to compete with other plants. Buckthorn in many of our metro park areas isn’t only a nuisance: it’s an
indicator of areas where there is an imbalance of nitrogen.
The relationship between invasive buckthorn and soil nitrogen reminds us that environmental problems that seem
isolated and dissimilar can actually be very connected. It can be easy to treat conservation issues as single issues –
this is especially true when it comes to invasive species, which are aggravating and easy to focus on but often
dominate an ecosystem because of imbalances or poor health in other aspects of the system. This lesson learned at
the South Washington Conservation Corridor makes me more committed than ever to supporting conservation
policies. Guidelines that regulate fertilizer use and stormwater management can have substantial benefits to overall
habitat. Conversely, neglecting proper management can lead to many habitat set backs, some of which we can’t even
predict.
Do you have a landscape lesson you learned? I’d love to hear it. Email me at [email protected].
About Julie Drennen
When it comes to East Metro Community Coordinators, Julie is easily our finest. Sure, there may be lack of
competition for the role as she is the only east metro coordinator, but we are lucky to have her all the same. While
she was born in Ohio, Julie grew up in Lino Lakes, Minnesota. She earned a Political Science degree from the
University of Minnesota Morris.
View all posts by Julie Drennen →
This entry was posted in Lakes, Rivers and Water, Uncategorized and tagged buckthorn, invasive species, Julie Drennen, Nitrogen and
Buckthorn, South Washington Conservation Corridor, Washington County, Woodbury. Bookmark the permalink.
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