CE personnel remove invasive trees, plan to replace with native plants Published Feb. 16, 2012 By Mike W. Ray Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- To improve the health of some of Tinker's natural areas, non-native trees are being chopped down at five sites on base comprising a little over five acres within the Urban Greenway and the golf course. Each of the sites has been choked with dense stands of invasive tree species, primarily lacebark elm, Siberian elm and Callery pear, said John Krupovage, natural resources manager with the 72nd Civil Engineering Directorate. The trees are being chewed into pieces by a "masticator" owned by Patriot Services Corp., with whom Tinker has a contract. (The work was interrupted recently because of inclement weather and an equipment breakdown.) In places where the trees have been pulverized, wood mulch covers the ground where the trees once stood and will prevent the bare soil from washing away in storms. Although the trees are being eliminated, "By this spring and summer we expect many seedlings of the invasives to pop up," Mr. Krupovage said. Herbicide will be sprayed this year to control those seedlings, he said, and plantings of native flora should begin next year. The sites will be restored to mixed grass prairie, oak savannah, or woodland. "It will take three to five years for initial establishment," he said, "and then many more years for the native trees to mature." One such spot was a wooded one-acre site north of the new child development center near Prairie Land Housing. That site will be converted to native grass meadows and woodlands. Eventually steps will be taken to remove eastern red cedars that have infested the Glenwood training area managed by the 3rd Combat Communications Squadron. "The northeastern quarter of Glenwood historically has been occupied by mixed grass prairie and supports two sensitive species: the Texas horned lizard and the Oklahoma penstemon, a rare plant," Mr. Krupovage said. "The suitability of this area for these species has been greatly degraded by the advancing cedars." Sixty-seven varieties of non-native plants have been found on Tinker Air Force Base, and 20 of them have been classified as invasive. The eastern red cedar, along with Callery pear, Siberian elm and lacebark elm, are among the most aggressive and pervasive of the trees, records indicate. Another is Sericia Lespedeza, a dense shrubby plant from Asia and Australia that was introduced into the U.S. in the late 1800s. The noxious plant, which elbows out native plants, is being controlled at several locations in the Urban Greenway, but numerous plots remain to be cleared. "We just haven't gotten to those sites yet," Mr. Krupovage said. A basewide invasive species assessment was conducted last summer by Student Conservation Association interns Melissa Talley Hinten and Kristi Todd under the supervision of Mr. Krupovage and Tiffany Whitsitt, in the 72nd ABW Civil Engineering Natural Resources Program. The assessment was important because, "Being a federal agency, we should take the lead and set the example in taking care of our nation's land resources," Mr. Krupovage asserted. "It will help us prioritize control efforts." In addition, Executive Order 13112 directs all federal agencies to prevent the introduction of invasive species, provide for their control, and minimize their economic, ecological and human health impacts. Invasive plant species displace native vegetation, creating an unbalanced, unhealthy ecosystem. Eastern red cedars, a native invasive species, also increase the risk of wildfire and "can become so dense they preclude ground training exercises," Mr. Krupovage pointed out . Invasive species flourish in new locales because, he explained, they have a tendency to have high reproductive rates; they establish and disperse rapidly; they are adaptable; and they have few, if any, natural enemies such as insects and/or disease in the places they infest.