MAPPING PATTERNS

INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES

IN UTAH
Created By: Rachel Boyack, 2014

THESIS AND RESULTS

By looking at modern day invasive species it is
possible to create a spread rate algorithm along
with a classification method to identify prehistoric
invasive species.
By looking at these invasive species, we hope that
it will be possible to identify and map out the pattern
upon which introduced and invasive species first
arrived North America in the Pleistocene.

BACKGROUND
Invasive species are plants that are not native to a
specific location and have the tendency to spread.
The invasive species spread rate is astronomically
high because there are no native competitors and
limiters to contain their spread rate.
Due to this high spread invasive species can
greatly modify and alter landscapes and change the
way of life for animals and humans of the area.

CASE STUDY
Invasive plant species studies in the past have
focused on one region of the world with a specific
climate and geography as such we do not have a
widespread invasive species study in the United
States.
The state of Utah has a wide variety of geography
and climate, therefore for first test for invasive
species mapping will be done throughout the state
of Utah.

COLLECTING DATA

Invasive species in Utah were determined by:

Did they exist in Utah 100 years ago

Is there record of introduction to the region
Is it present of the USDA list of invasive species in Utah

Alfalfa
Bermuda Grass
Cheat grass
Chokecherry
Dropseed
Fescue
Foxtail
Honeysuckle
Kochia
Oregon Grape
Red Brome
Russian Olive
Russian Thistle
Tamerisk
Timothy
Wheatgrass

INVASIVE SPECIES OF UTAH LIST

Invasive
Plant is the
Dominate
Species in
the Area

OBSERVATIONS
The previous map shows where invasive species
are the dominate plant type in the area.
As we can see by the map there is a comparatively
small amount of land completely dominated by
invasive species

Where
Invasive
Species is
at least
30% of the
Plant
Population

OBSERVATIONS

However if we look at another map where the

invasive species type is more than 30% of total
plant population we can see that the area affected
by the invasive species is much more vast of an
area.

Invasive Species
Coverage by
individual plant type

OBSERVATIONS
The previous maps shows the area throughout the
state of Utah that is affected by invasive species.
The map was created to analyze each species
individually for each species type.
As we can see from the map, cheatgrass is by far
the most dominate of all the invasive species.
Because Cheatgrass has a wide area and is spread
throughout a vast area of Utah, it can be
considered as species that can thrive in a variety of
climates and its biology can be used for the
comparative study.

OBSERVATIONS CONTINUED

Other plants that should be considered for comparative

analysis are chokecherry and crested wheat as plants
that can thrive in a myriad of habitats.

Tamerisk seem to thrive in very specific climates.

Tamerisk thrives along river and lake areas and can be
used for areas along prehistoric lakes and streams.

Bermuda grass and honeysuckle seem to need warmer

weathers to survive as such should not be used in a
comparative study due to the climate of the Pleistocene.

FURTHER RESEARCH
Other States throughout the U.S. should also be
mapped to determine similar species
Climate charts for most widespread invasive
species should be created and analyzed.
A map of climate in North America should be
created.
A climate map of Prehistoric North America should
be created.
Sediment Cores should be analyzed into tabular
data.

DETERMINATION
Though ancient invasive species a relatively new
idea, there is intensive research on ancient climates
that an accurate map can be created.
Therefore if funding requests should be granted this
would be a worthwhile project that would be
worthwhile study.