CA Is More At Risk For Invasive Plants Than Any Other State: Ranking

CALIFORNIA — California is the state most at risk for invasive plant species, according to a recent ranking from Lawn Love.

The lawn care website determined the ranking by considering weighted factors related to invasive plant presence, climate and regulatory membership, then averaged each state’s scores across all aspects of the ranking for an overall score out of 100 points.

California was No. 1 on the list with an overall score of 71.39, followed by New York at 70.54 and Massachusetts at 67.8. Alaska was No. 51 in the ranking, which included the District of Columbia, and had an overall score of 16.4.

“Invasive plants can worsen wildfire conditions, so you may want to consider native species and fire-resistant landscaping when revamping your Golden State lawn,” according to Lawn Love.

California also had the highest number of invasive plant species reported, with 1,695, per a database of citizen scientists managed by the University of Georgia, according to Lawn Love. The database may include non-native plants not yet classified as invasive as well as negative and eradicated records, Lawn Love noted, clarifying that non-native plants can be dormant for centuries before becoming invasive.

“The biggest concern with introducing non-native species is the potential that they’ll become invasive,” Bethany Bradley, a professor of environmental conservation at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, told Lawn Love.

“Invasive species by definition are ones that harm ecosystems — typically by outcompeting native plants and reducing the resources available for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. Some invasive plants also change how an ecosystem functions, for example by using a lot of water or fueling fires.”

See the full ranking from Lawn Love.