By: Mya Taylor
The Chinese privet is an invasive plant species that is growing sporadically through the South Eastern United States. The invasive species negatively impacts native species in the region.
Lissa M. Leege is a Professor in the department of biology at Georgia Southern University. In 2023, with the help of her husband and undergraduate students, Leege conducted a study on Chinese privet. The experiment took place in her own backyard, where Chinese privet flourished.
Some living organism benefitted from the Chinese privet. The privet usually produced fruit and a pleasant odor that would attract birds in the wet habitat. Leege also noticed chewing marks left from deer, who eat the privet.
In the experiment, Leege and students observed the affects of the Chinese privet in the wet habitat behind her home. The group also observed the impact on herb and stem plants. Characteristics of the environment post privet removal were also observed and recorded during the experiment.
Removing the Chinese privet was the challenging part. After Leege's husband removed the invasive species, it grew back rapidly in dense groups.
The Chinese privet creates a middle tier that blocks the sunlight from other plant species and organisms underneath. After removing the Chinese privet, Leege and her students made a new discovery.
"When that privet is removed all these things that have been shaded out start to come back. So we immediately saw the restoration of these rushes that should be in the wetland they came back for the first time, I had never seen them before," Leege said .
One limitation in the experiment was not knowing the conditions of the wet habitat before removal of the invasive species.
"Really a kind of better way to have set up that experiment would've been to take all the measurements before, then remove the privet, then take them after," Leege said.
Leege believes they can infer that the changes in the environment were caused by the removal of the privet.
Through their own research, some of Leege's graduate students have noticed a decrease in living organisms beneath the privet.
"It seems that it's crowding out or it's changing the conditions such that there's very few insects, there's very few small mammals, very few herps like amphibians, and snakes and things like that," Leege said
Leege expressed concern for the potential takeover of the privet in the ecosystem. The complete removal of privet requires constant monitoring and upkeep of the land.
The invasive species produces seeds that are stored in the soil, making them harder to get rid of. Birds that are fond of the privet can also bring it back from the next-door wet habitat.
Leege believes that stricter laws should be enforced on the sale of privet and other invasive species due to the harm they do to the environment.
Leege enjoyed the process of working with undergraduate students for this experiment and publishing their findings. The group will continue to conduct research on the privet and publish more work focusing on privet.