Fueling the Fight: How Native Wild Rye and Fire Deliver Long-Term Control Over Invasive Common Buckthorn

A Nature-Based Strategy for Controlling Common Buckthorn

The fight against common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) remains one of the greatest challenges in woodland restoration and invasive species management. This aggressive shrub spreads rapidly, forming dense thickets that outcompete native vegetation, alter soil chemistry, and reduce biodiversity.

Groundbreaking research from the University of Minnesota, known as the “Cover It Up!” project and led by Dr. Mike Schuster and his colleagues, offers a proven, science-backed solution: combining traditional buckthorn removal with native grass seeding - especially Virginia wildrye (Elymus virginicus) - and the strategic use of prescribed fire.

This native plant restoration method doesn’t just treat the symptoms of invasion; it transforms the woodland understory to resist buckthorn’s return through a powerful combination of competition and fire ecology.

The Wild Rye Advantage: Turning Grass into Firepower

At the core of this approach is the ability of native wild rye to dramatically increase the effectiveness of prescribed fire.

According to forthcoming research in the Natural Areas Journal, titled “Understory Revegetation Enhances Efficacy of Prescribed Burning After Common Buckthorn Management”, establishing native grasses like  Elymus virginicus (Virginia Wild Rye) after buckthorn removal leads to:

• Increased fine fuel load (grass litter) that sustains higher fire intensity.
• Reduced bare ground, creating conditions that discourage buckthorn seedlings.
• Enhanced fire spread and severity, improving long-term buckthorn control.

By planting native Elymus species, woodland managers provide the essential fine fuels that enable effective prescribed burns—achieving the heat levels needed to damage buckthorn root systems and seedbanks.

Biotic Resistance: Competition and Shading from Native Cover

The advantages of native grasses extend beyond fire. A related 2024 study in Ecological Engineering, “Revegetation of Elymus Grasses Suppresses Invasive Rhamnus cathartica in Deciduous Forest Understories,” revealed that Elymus grasses also provide long-term biotic resistance to reinvasion.

These native cover crops:

• Compete with buckthorn seedlings for light, water, and nutrients.
• Create dense shading that suppresses light-dependent buckthorn germination.
• Establish a stable native ground layer that promotes biodiversity and soil health.

This natural competition and shading effect functions as a sustainable, self-reinforcing control mechanism—one that continues to protect the woodland long after initial removal efforts.

Flywheel Ecology in Action

This two-pronged restoration strategy - combining competition and fire - illustrates what researchers refer to as “Flywheel Ecology”:

1. Initial buckthorn removal is followed by strategic native seeding of Elymus grasses.
2. These grasses establish quickly, providing both fuel for prescribed fire and competition against invasive seedlings.
3. Prescribed fire then reinforces the native dominance, creating a positive feedback loop.
4. The result: long-term control of buckthorn and greater ecosystem resilience.

By leveraging natural processes rather than repeated chemical or mechanical treatments, this approach aligns with the principles of regenerative land management - working with nature, not against it.

Discover Natural Communities suite of Wild Rye:

• Elymus canadensis (Canada Wild Rye)
• Elymus virginicus (Virginia Wild Rye)
• Elymus hystrix or Elymus patula (Bottlebrush Grass)
• Elymus villosus (Silky Wild Rye)
• Bouteloua curtipendula (Side Oats Grama)