-
Bog Turtle Natural History Profile
-
Learn more about Bog Turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) habitat, behavior and distribution.
Located in
Species Profile
/
Natural History
-
Overview
-
Located in
Species Profile
/
Threats
/
Invasive Plants
-
Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum)
-
Japanese stiltgrass is an annual grass, found in a range of habitats, from wetlands to early successional fields and forested uplands. Japanese stiltgrass alters light and moisture regimes and likely affects seed germination. The most effective control method is to prevent its spread into natural plant communities by avoiding disturbance to the vegetation and soils of these areas.
Located in
Species Profile
/
Threats
/
Invasive Plants
-
Mile-a-minute (Persicaria perfoliata)
-
Mile-a-minute (Persicaria perfoliata) is a trailing vine with barbed stems and triangular leaves. In contrast to other invasive vines, mile-a-minute is an herbaceous annual, meaning it dies each fall and new plants grow from germinating seeds in the spring. Each vine can grow 20 to 30 feet long, forming a dense, tangled blanket of intertwined vines. In the peak growing season, mile-a-minute can put on up to 6 inches of growth a day. Its leaves are distinctly triangular or arrowhead-shaped, 1 to 3 inches wide, vibrant green, and bear many hooked barbs along the underside of the central vein and leaf stem. The dense foliage of this invasive weed blankets and slowly suffocates native vegetation, making it extremely destructive and persistent despite being an annual plant.
Located in
Species Profile
/
Threats
/
Invasive Plants
-
Small carpetgrass (Arthraxon hispidus)
-
Small carpetgrass is also known as hairy joint and/or joint head grass. It is a low-growing, sprawling annual grass. Small carpet grass grows up to one and a half feet in height. Stems root at nodes and have bright green clasping leaves which are often sparsely hairy on the margins. This grass grows in wet areas such as stream banks, shorelines, flood plains and wet meadows. It prefers sunny, moist areas.
Located in
Species Profile
/
Threats
/
Invasive Plants
-
Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora)
-
Multiflora rose is a thorny, perennial shrub with arching stems (canes), and leaves divided into five to eleven sharply toothed leaflets. The base of each leaf stalk bears a pair of fringed bracts. Beginning in May or June, clusters of showy, fragrant, white to pink flowers appear, each about an inch across. Small bright red fruits, or rose hips, develop during the summer, becoming leathery, and remain on the plant through the winter. Multiflora rose is extremely prolific and can form impenetrable thickets that exclude native plant species. This exotic rose readily invades open woodlands, forest edges, successional fields, savannas and prairies that have been subjected to land disturbance.
Located in
Species Profile
/
Threats
/
Invasive Plants
-
Glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus)
-
Glossy buckthorn is a single stem or at times, multiple stem shrub or small tree that can grow up to approximately 20 feet. Leaves are glossy or shiny on top and have a dull green underside. Leaves are also alternate along branches, entire (smooth edges) to obscurely crenulate (leaf edges have small, rounded teeth). Glossy buckthorn is shade-tolerant. However, it frequently invades sunny spots which is why it is seen growing in open fields, along field edges, along roads and paths, and any other areas that are sunny.
Photo credit: Elizabeth J. Czarapata, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Located in
Species Profile
/
Threats
/
Invasive Plants
-
Vegetation Management: Herbicides
-
Succession of many wetlands from open-canopy fens to closed-canopy swamps contributes to the loss of bog turtle habitat. Reviewed here are the herbicide application methods described in the US Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion 2010.
Located in
Information Materials
/
Habitat Restoration and Management
-
Vegetation Management: Cutting and Removal of Woody Plants
-
Methods for the removal of woody vegetation in bog turtle habitat that may vary depending upon the target plant species. Methods include both mechanical or manual techniques.
Located in
Information Materials
/
Habitat Restoration and Management
-
Habitat Restoration and Management
-
The northern population of the bog turtle (Clemmys (Glyptemys) muhlenbergiii) faces the primary threats of habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation as a result of development and habitat degradation due to succession and invasive exotic plant species. Vegetation management and restoration of emergent wetland hydrology is crucial to bog turtle population recovery.
Located in
Information Materials
