Research Notes: A study indicates that garlic mustard is rapidly spreading and altering forests across the east

Researchers from Boston University and Harvard University recently completed a study exploring the ecological implications of the invasion of Alliaria petiolata – better known as garlic mustard – in the Northeast. Not only is the species spreading at a rate of 6400 square kilometers per year, according to this study it is also leading to detrimental changes in the ecosystems of the Eastern forests in terms of biodiversity and soil composition. Garlic mustard, because of its adaptive capabilities and unique characteristics, seems to be right at home in the forests of the east, and could potentially lead to dramatic changes in these ecosystems.
An abstract, as well as a link to the publication, is available at: http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1641/B580510.