#Permaculture debate: Bull Thistle is an invasive species in the USA.
Yet, it's beloved by pollinators.
What say you? #permies #asknostr
Discussion
Guess that explains why it’s successfully invasive. I highly doubt anyone who might reply has a clue what the ecological repercussions of it proliferating may or may not be though
It also flowers in the "dearth" period for pollen 👀
It's been proliferating for a while. I've never seen it eat large tracts of land. To the extent that it does, it's a tall herbaceous plant, so it's early on the succession hierarchy. If it ate an abandoned field it would likely be joined by shrubs and trees in a short number of years and then be shaded out by them within a decade or 2.
That seems to be the way of most "invasives." They are the early colonizers of degraded ecosystems and they give way to successive species (often native) pretty readily, having done work to revitalize the soil in the mean time.
There are no invasive species.
Pretty!
Is it really an invasive species or rather opportunistic?
I would call it opportunistic
What are the conditions that makes the thistle thrive?
They are probably growing in not that good soil, right? Hence the opportunity they seize to make themselves home.
Does it attempt to improve the soil and once it has reached its goal makes space for other species?
I'd guess they do, I have a few thistles growing on my soils as well. The soil here is in very bad shape and I welcome these deeply-rooted species.
I believe thistles are native to you!
& I think my pasture has a lack of legumes but overall soil quality is good - just lacking in nitrogen a bit probably.
Having sheep on the pasture will rectify this as well! But I am keen on leaving these this year and just removing the seed heads!
I welcome it.