Welcome back to the unsung heroes of the climate movement. We’ve covered beavers, marshlands, and using fungus to clean up pollution, so today let’s talk more about plants. Specifically, native plants!
Can ripping up our grass lawns and removing invasive species really save the planet? I mean, maybe not on its own. But I do think this is a very overlooked aspect of living and eco life and caring for the planet.
Let’s talk about invasive and native plants!
What is an invasive plant?
According to the USDA, “ an ‘invasive species’ is defined as a species that is non-native to the ecosystem under consideration; and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.”
These are plants that outcompete native ones or even cause harm to other wildlife.
How does this happen? Human introduction. Throughout colonization, humans loved to bring their favorite European plants around the world. Maybe they were simply a flower someone wanted to plant in their landscape (like ice plant), or maybe it was a plant that colonizers wanted to use to stabilize sand dunes (like Eurasian beach grass), which shouldn’t be stabilized. Sometimes plants accidentally get out of a garden, but other times the plants are purposefully planted in the region. Another common invasive in the desert southwest is tamarisk. This plant was added to ecosystems to help with water absorption and help with drought conditions. While it aided with that, tamarisk is very good at holding excess nutrients in its roots, making it so other plants can’t use them. The same goes for yellow bush lupine up here in true NorCal.
But, it’s not their native region? How do they grow so well?
Well, here’s a list from the USDA:
Many invasive plant species produce large quantities of seed.
Many invasives thrive on disturbed soil.
Invasive plant seeds are often distributed by birds, wind, or unknowingly by humans, allowing seeds to move great distances.
Some invasives have aggressive root systems that spread long distances from a single plant.
These root systems often grow so densely that they smother the root systems of surrounding vegetation.
Some plant species produce chemicals in their leaves or root systems that inhibit the growth of other plants around them.
The environmental harm of non-native plants
Now, more specifically, how can invasive plants harm the greater ecosystem?
Here’s another list from the USDA:
Invasive species have contributed to the decline of 42% of U.S. endangered and threatened species, and for 18% of U.S. endangered or threatened species, invasives are the main cause of their decline.
Invasive species compete directly with native species for moisture, sunlight, nutrients, and space.
Overall plant diversity can be decreased
Establishment and spread of invasive species can degrade wildlife habitat
Results in poor quality agriculture lands
Degraded water quality
Increased soil erosion
Decreased recreation opportunities
What is a native plant?
Here’s what The Conservation Foundation has to say: “The textbook definition of native plants is that they are the plants that have been growing in an area prior to European settlement. Another way to define native plants is: Native plants evolved or adapted to our local environment for thousands of years, and are an important part of our local habitats, ecosystems, and ecosystem services (pollination, infiltration, carbon sequestration, etc). They are the most sustainable plants for our specific area. Our native plants not only adapted physically, but chemically and genetically.”
These plants have adapted and evolved for that specific environment. Maybe they developed drought tolerance or tolerance for heavy rainfall. Maybe they figured out how to attract a very specific pollinator species during co-evolution.
The point is, these plants are highly specialized to a specific environment and may find it hard to live elsewhere. When an invasive species is introduced and starts to compete with the native plants, the native plants have nowhere else to go but down the path of extinction.
The environmental benefits of native plants
It all comes down to biodiversity. Biodiversity is a huge player in the fight for a clean planet. It’s how we get through droughts, temperature changes, pollinate our food, sequester more carbon from the atmosphere, and so many more benefits.
The Audubon Society states some of the impacts of biodiversity loss: “The continental U.S. lost a staggering 150 million acres of habitat and farmland to urban sprawl, and that trend isn’t slowing. The modern obsession with highly manicured “perfect” lawns alone has created a green, monoculture carpet across the country that covers over 40 million acres. The human-dominated landscape no longer supports functioning ecosystems, and the remaining isolated natural areas are not large enough to support wildlife.”
The loss of native plants has an alarming trickle-down effect on the ecosystem. Loss of plants leads to loss of insects that evolved to pollinate them. That may lead to loss of small mammals and birds who, in turn, evolved to eat those insects. So on and so forth, this occurs up the food chain and affects us all! Rachel Carson talks about this in her famous book, Silent Spring. Other books that cover the importance of a native-species focused backyard include Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer and The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl. More of my Eco Book Recs here.
Let’s get into the benefits of native plants!
No fertilizer
There are two main problems with fertilizers:
They are mostly made of petrochemicals, by-products of the oil industry. You’re literally putting fossil fuels on your plants.
They cause environmental harm when they run off plants. Wikipedia states that “Fertilizers, especially when applied excessively, can have environmental consequences such as water pollution[7] and eutrophication[8] due to nutrient runoff.[9] Additionally, the chemical process for creating the fertilizers results in byproducts, including carbon and other emissions.[10] In some cases, contamination and pollution of soil result from the accumulation of heavy metals contained in some fertilizers collected through mining.”
The North American Butterfly Association explains that native plants don’t need fertilizer at all! Since they evolved in your area, they get all the nutrients they need right from the soil. In fact, many fertilizers can harm native plants. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are good for plants, but a higher dose can make it a poison. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
So save money and prevent all the pollution that comes from using fertilizers by opting for native plants in your yard.
No Mowing
When you stop mowing, your yard will turn into a meadow…with some help. Many lawns are seeded with non-native grasses, so you may have to remove some of them. But once the native plants are thriving, you don’t need to mow them! This will save on fuel costs and reduce emissions.
Water Conservation
Native plants are bastions of water conservation. They do it all!
First, they simply don’t need as much water as non-native plants. Even in desert and drought-ridden environments! Since, again, they evolved to live in your region, it has evolved to that level of precipitation over millennia. Don’t water them to save money and preserve our precious resource of fresh water.
Second, they also serve as sponges to help replenish underground stores of water. Their growth patterns and root structures help maintain moisture levels in the soil and can even slow water runoff, which allows more of it to permeate the earth rather than just flowing away. This is extremely important in drought-prone regions. More native plants and less pavement!
And a bonus, they even help with water quality and purification! A Massachusetts government page about native plants states that “Additionally, native plants act as natural filters, trapping sediments and absorbing excess nutrients, which helps protect aquatic ecosystems from pollution.”
Wildlife Protection and Health
Native plants provide essential habitats and food sources for local wildlife, including pollinators, birds, and other organisms. This biodiversity helps maintain balanced ecosystems that are more resilient to environmental changes.
As I said earlier, every plant and every critter is dependent upon others. The protection of one flower or tree species can protect the entire ecosystem. More species on the brink of extinction or endangerment may bounce back when just one species is preserved. Plus, there will be more food and shelter for all of them, as well.
Native plants have evolved to satisfy the specific needs of local wildlife, offering food, shelter, and other essential resources during the winter months. When that native plant goes away, a critter loses its historical food source and shelter. Yes, there may be other options, but there also might not be.
Not only this, but these plants’ fruiting cycles are often synchronized with the migratory patterns, hibernation, and reproduction schedules of wildlife, ensuring a steady nourishment supply exactly when needed most. This evolutionary harmony is crucial for the survival of both plants and animals all year long!
Halting Soil Erosion
According to the National Park Service, “Preventing or slowing erosion with native plants is a common ecological practice in land management. The root systems of these plants help to stabilize the soil and prevent open areas from wearing away. Use of native plants also helps restore native habitat for birds, small mammals, and estuarine invertebrates, which are vital to the success of the coastal marsh ecosystem.”
Especially when these native plants are in marshes, they help even MORE with soil erosion. But I’ve done an entire video all about marshlands you should check out here.
Using native plants for erosion control is an excellent biological method to help protect the landscape from erosive forces. Native grasses and sedges are particularly effective due to their fibrous roots that grab and hold the soil, keeping it from washing away. So let this be your sign to support native grasses in your own yard, local parks, and in other areas.
More Carbon Sequestration
All plants sequester carbon, even invasive ones. But native plants are superior for long-term, stable soil carbon storage! And this is especially the case for native grasses. The Minnesota Board for Water and Soil Resources states that “native grassland species have extensive root systems, some growing up to 15 feet deep. In fact, most of native grassland species' biomass is found below ground. Grasslands dominated by native species store more carbon in soil than those dominated by non-native species. Native prairie species are known to have up to twice the deep root biomass of introduced species.”
The deeper you allow the native grass to grow, the more carbon it can sequester. These roots also help with water retention and water filtration, as we learned above.
This doesn’t mean we have to just let the grass grow while we ignore it. We can lend an active hand! The MBWSR article from above also states that prescribed burns and purposeful grazing of the grassland with cattle can help the grass roots store more carbon! We are an active player in our ecosystem, and indigenous peoples from around the world have known this and put this into practice for millenia. It’s time for our Euro-centric thinking to catch up.
Lower Heat in Cities
Again, to be fair, all plants will help reduce heat in urban areas. How? Well, we replace concrete and asphalt with plants! Of course, the best course of action here is to replace the concrete jungle with native plants, which also support native insects, birds, and other wildlife. Yes, in cities, too!
Plants provide shade, especially large plants like trees. Take a look at this thermometer. Trees on the sides of streets can literally lower temperatures by 10 degrees Celsius or more! This is extremely important as our planet warms from the climate crisis and will allow humans to better adapt.
Plus, replacing concrete and asphalt with plants means more soil. Soil and plants are inherently cooler than any sort of pavement. Plus, pavement traps and reflects heat.
Humans sweat to cool us down, which helps us withstand higher temperatures. Plants also release excess water via the stomata on their leaves. This cools the air and helps us stay cooler, too!
Want to withstand climate change? Be an advocate for more plants, especially native ones, in cities!
Genetic Diversity
The more species of plants we preserve, the better their collective chance for survival. Genetic diversity is the foundation of a species’ ability to adapt and survive. It refers to the range of genetic traits within a population. High genetic diversity allows plants to respond to environmental changes, resist diseases, and tolerate stress. When populations become small and isolated, genetic diversity declines.
This approach ensures that a wide variety of genetic traits are maintained, increasing the chances of long-term survival for endangered native plants.
Climate Change Threats to Native Plants
While native plants can help us humans and other animals adapt to climate change, the plants are also under a lot of threat from the climate crisis. It is estimated that approximately 66 percent of California’s endemic plant species will experience decreases of up to 80 percent in the size of their ranges within the next 100 years.
Shifting hardiness zones is causing the migration of plants and animals northward and to higher-altitude regions. These zones are shifting approximately 13 miles north every decade. However, climate scientists warn that this migration is not happening at the same rate; a tree could be moving locations more gradually than the birds that rely on the fruit the tree produces. This phenomenon is causing the breakdown of ecosystems, especially in cases where geographical boundaries (like seas and mountain ranges) prevent native plants from shifting naturally to more suitable climate regions. This is also a problem for species with literally nowhere else to go. For example, high Sierra flora and fauna such as the pika and giant sequoia are already living at high elevations. And ancient trees like the sequoia cannot move north fast enough.
Another issue is phenological mismatching. Warmer conditions trigger early spring blooming, disrupting the critical synchronization between native flowers and their specific regional pollinators.
Lastly, any sort of extreme weather or unnatural disaster affects plants too: flooding, drought, fire, and so forth impact every living being in the ecosystem. While native plants are more adept at surviving climate change than invasive species, they aren’t immune to every event.
Other threats
That’s just climate change! Of course, native plants are threatened by invasive plants as we covered at the top of this post.
Not only that, but every day we lose native habitat. The most threatened are meadows and marshlands. We lose it to housing developments, farms, logging, mining, oil drilling, AI data centers, and more. Yes, we need to use land to live, but not at this frivolity. We are using more than we need to use.
Pollution from farming, the oil industry, transportation, and more are also impacting plants. Not just directly, either. Our pollution, once it enters the water cycle or food chain, impacts every living organism. This is also threatening native plants.
You probably think fires are bad. And, yes, they can be, but fire is also life-giving to so many plants. The last 100-ish years of Euro-centric fire suppression have led to many native species not being able to thrive as they once did under Indigenous-stewarded fire management. Thankfully, we are learning from this mess that we’ve caused, and many regions once again do prescribed burns.
What we can do
There are so many things we can do! Here is a quick list, but feel free to drop your ideas below:
Remove invasive plants from your yard and plant native plants
Don’t have a yard? See if your region has a Native Plant Society. Volunteer with them to plant native plants and remove invasive ones from your public spaces.
Don’t have an NPS? I bet you have another org focused on removing invasive species. Find one to volunteer with.
If you can’t volunteer your time, or just want to do a little extra, donate monetarily to these organizations so that they can keep doing more!
Be an advocate for our public lands and their protection. They are under threat now more than ever under Trump 2.0 and are facing drilling, mining, and logging. Sign petitions, call your reps, and go visit your public lands to show the demand for these places.
I’ve been doing a bit of guerrilla seeding around my neighborhood. I have identified many a native flower species, and this summer, when they went to seed, I collected some (only some, never all of them) and spread the seeds to new places around town to encourage the growth of native plants. PLEASE double or triple check that what you’re planting is native!
Stop using fertilizers that can contribute to the degradation of soil and water health and impact the native plants.
and more!
If you liked this post, you should check out a few other unsung heroes of the world, like beavers, fungi, and marshlands. These amazing parts of the ecosystem are also doing wonders to clean up pollution and restore balance to the earth.
Let’s keep learning, keep reducing our own waste, and keep fighting for a clean home.
Scientific discoveries and research are what led us to this post. I also urge you to keep fighting for scientific funding!
As always, remember that your small actions make a big difference in the long run :)
Emma
