Woody Vines Porcelainberry/Bittersweet/English Ivy A. brevipedunculata/ C. orbiculatus / H. helix

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Woody Vines
Porcelainberry/Bittersweet/English Ivy
A. brevipedunculata/ C. orbiculatus
/ H. helix

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Vegetation Structure
and Diversity

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- Loss of plant species / ecosystems
- Changes in canopy structure
- Changes in understory structure
- Changes in understory openness
- Change in seedling recruitment

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Tree Effects
- Bittersweet can overtop canopy trees, causing light deprivation and bark girdling, and eventually death (McNab and Meeker 1987).
- High vine biomass in the tree canopy makes trees more susceptible to damage by wind, snow and ice storms (Siccama, et al. 1976; Patterson 1974).
- A long-term study of succession of an agricultural field to woody vegetation suggests that bittersweet prevented forest development and decreased species diversity (Fike and Niering 1999).
- Bittersweet has been associated with diminished tree basal area and density (Fike and Niering 1999)

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- Following disturbance, a variety of invasive vines have been shown to negatively affect the regeneration of native trees and other plants including pre-established juveniles and resprouts from damaged adults (Horvitz et al., 1998).
- Kudzu will blanket all vegetation layers and can lead to loss of canopy trees through light deprivation, girdling and by inducing treefall (Mitich 2000).

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Herb and Vine Effects
- "Plots containing bittersweet had diminished [species] diversity, richness, and total abundance compared to plots without the invasive plant" in the herbaceous layer (Broward 2011).
- Due to its high reproductive rate, long range dispersal, and rapid growth rate, bittersweet is also thought to be part of the reason behind the decline in the native species American bittersweet (C. scandens) (Leicht-Young et al. 2007-Oecologica).
- Bittersweet may be facilitating a native vine (Vitis labrusca) (Fike and Niering 1999)

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Bird Diversity and Abundance

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- Birds eat the fruit of porcelainberry (Greenberg et al. 2001) and fruit is comparable in lipid and sugar content to the fruit of other species (Dreyer 1994).
- Changes in vines and tree species are thought to affect a variety of animal communities (Levine et al. 2003) - need to revist after reading article

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Historic Landscape

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All reviewed vines can smother and kill native characteristic plants by blocking light or competition for other resources (McNab and Meeker 1987; Horvitz et al. 1998; Mitich 2000; Fike and Niering 1999).

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Historic Structures

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- English ivy (H. helix) can damage mortar and concrete, when there is existing damage, but has also been shown to moderate microclimates on walls, potentially offering conservation benefits to structures (Sternberg et al. 2011).

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