Garlic Mustard

Many invasive species, like Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata), are threatening the world’s natural resources, but the abundance of invasive species can vary dramatically over space and time. Scientists still do not have a good understanding of why this is so.

Through large-scale sampling, scientists can identify areas that differ in the intensity of invasion and try to understand why these differences exist. We can also compare this to variation in the native range. This may be crucial to researching new methods of control, but a large project like this could cost millions of dollars and years of work.

There are two ways to help with this study:
1)  Help us identify new populations
All you need is a GPS device, pencil and paper to record the latitude, longitude and altitude of any population that you find. Digital photos are optional but recommended to help confirm that you have found the right plant. 

If you have a  Android-based smartphone or an iPhone you can use it instead. Just download the “What’s Invasive?” App and sign up for the “Park” called “Garlic Mustard Survey”. Then you are ready to report any plant locations that you find along your trek. NOTE: this will only work in areas with cellphone data coverage.

2) Participate directly in the sampling effort
The protocol takes two people about 4-6 hours and requires a few items that would mostly fit in a small backpack. For more information, download the instructions on the GarlicMustard.org website:
http://www.garlicmustard.org/instructions.html

If you are interested in participating this survey please Tell Us About Your Expedition

• GPS unit (If you do not have access to a GPS unit, you can download and use GoogleEarth (http://earth.google.de/) to locate your sites and estimate latitude, longitude and altitude.)
• tape measure 
• pencil (ink will smear if wet)
• digital camera