Little Hope Cemetery

The first project the crew tackled at Mammoth Cave National Park was a daunting 5 acre plot of Ailanthus altissima (Tree-of-Heaven). The site had been treated in previous years but a dense population of Ailanthus had resprouted since then. As seen in the photos below, the Ailanthus had crowded out almost all other tree species from the area and as if that weren't bad enough a dense carpet of Microstegium vimineum (Nepalese Browntop) had formed on the forest floor! We cleared 3.7 acres of Ailanthus before moving on to our next project site. This plot will continue to see attention from the Park Service and volunteer groups to ensure that these species do not continue to spread.

Invasive Species:
Ailanthus altissima & Microstegium vimineum

Control Method:
Hand tools were used to cut the small Ailanthus trees as close to the ground as possible. Hand sprayers were then used to apply herbicide to the cut stumps to effectively kill the root and prevent further resprouting. The Microstegium was left untreated but large populations were reported to the Park Service for future control.