River cane plants in Alabama are becoming extinct, but a professor at Auburn University is not letting them go down without a fight.
Wildlife scientist Mark Smith said his decision to start a research project on restoring the river cane in Alabama was based on the conservation need for the plant.
"This plant is one of our most valuable ecosystems," Smith said. "It is obvious that the plant has declined dramatically."
Smith said canebrakes are large areas near rivers where river cane grows thickly.
According to an academic article written by Smith, canebrakes often spanned several thousands of acres and provided numerous environmental and ecological benefits.
His research concluded that the canebrakes are the habitat for 50 species of wildlife. The plant is the habitat for several bird species, black bears, reptiles, amphibians and many butterfly species.
"The river cane plant is rare native ecosystems and that is why it's so dear to me," Smith said. "It's very interesting because of the wildlife standpoint and how it creates wildlife habitats."
However, Smith said we are continuously losing some of these natural ecosystems. He added that if we don't do something about restoring or protecting the river cane plants, we're going to lose them and the species that dwell in the canebrakes.
School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences graduate assistant Jeremy Hamlington said researchers at the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences are addressing the issues of the plant extinction through research.
"We use propagation methods using sections of river cane rhizomes to facilitate large scale, cost-effective restoration," Hamlington said. "Hopefully, this research will bring this unique ecosystem back to its former glory."
Smith said the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES) funded a large portion of money to the project. However, the AAES wasn't the only agency that helped fund the project. Smith said Auburn University School of Wildlife and Sciences and Roundstone Native Seed, a native plant producer, also helped with funding.
Smith and the researchers have been working on the restoration of the river cane for six months, Smith said.
He said the project is relativity new, and they plan to work on the project for two and a half years.
Within the six months of research, Smith said the project has created a lot of stir. Smith also said a lot of people never considered river cane to be a major issue, and river cane restoration never really registers in peoples minds.
However, the restoration project is receiving more attention and people are becoming more aware of the issue.
"That is always good," Smith said. "It gets the native cane restoration on the people's minds and gets the people to start thinking about it."
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