Tracking the rise of Dahurian buckthorn in Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 28, 2025) — Heading into my senior year as a Natural Resources and Environmental Science major at UK, I became interested in studying the Dahurian buckthorn (Rhamnus davurica), a woody invasive that is emerging in central Kentucky. This plant is extremely under-studied and could have tremendous impacts on our ecosystems if left untreated. My mentor, Dr. John Cox, and I want to learn more about this plant in order to gauge how extreme this invasive species is and how to manage it properly.
This past spring, we labeled 60 buckthorn, as well as 60 bush honeysuckle and 30 spicebush as our two control groups. Each week, I would check on the plants to see if the buckthorn would leaf out earlier than the other species. Understanding how fast this invasive emerges in the spring can tell us if it is phenotypically advantageous compared to other plants in its environment.
