Tag: Sandplain grasslands

IPSC volunteers pose with bagged garlic mustard after a Nantucket invasive plant removal event in 2016.
Island Science

Learning from Invasives

The Nantucket Invasive Plant Species Committee (IPSC) was created as a subcommittee of the Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative around 2004. The IPSC has a goal to identify, track, manage and educate the public about the island’s non-native invasive plants. IPSC organizes group pulling events for some problematic species and works to educate the public about identification and management. When IPSC was first created, there was a list of concerning species that we wanted to monitor on island. We called them the “invaders” and worked to bring awareness so people could report them. This list came primarily from the mainland and other parts of southern New England where problems were first noticed and studied. We wanted to learn from our nearest neighbors as a way to prevent what we saw from happening in other places. After more than 20 years, it’s interesting to note which plants have actually become the problems we expected, and which ones have been more manageable in the long run.

Island Science

Nantucket’s Rare Sandplain Grasslands

Driving around the south of the island, you may be headed to the beach or just going on a traditional Nantucket “rantum scoot.” Most dirt roads headed to the shore take you past open landscapes of waving grasses, low shrubs, and wildflowers when the season is right. Head of the Plains, Smooth Hummocks, Cisco— these are sandplain grasslands and coastal heathlands. On Nantucket, we’re pretty lucky: the sandplain grasslands here are some of the largest remaining intact grasslands of their kind in the world.

Sandplain Grasslands | Nantucket, MA
Island Science

Native Habitats

by Dr. Sarah Treanor Bois Director of Research & Education at the Linda Loring Nature Foundation For people and plants, Nantucket can be a formidable place to call home. Only the hardiest souls can endure the wind, salt spray, and isolation all year, but those that can are rewarded with […]

Grasslands | Nantucket, MA
Exploring Nantucket, Island Science

Managing a Rare Island Habitat

Dr. Sarah Treanor Bois Director of Research & Education at the Linda Loring Nature Foundation Sandplain grasslands of the northeastern United States are important hotspots for native plant and animal biodiversity. Nantucket has some of the largest expanses of intact sandplain grassland and heathland habitat. With much of this landscape […]