Do Horses Spread Non-Native Plants on Trails?

by: Stith T. Gower, PhD
Can plant and weed seeds contained in horse manure, hooves, and hay cause nonnative plant species (plants that were introduced to that ecosystem but do not grow there naturally) to spread along trails and into parks and forests? This is an ecological question that often arises. Stith T. Gower, PhD, of the Department of Forest Ecology and Management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has ...