
Chemical Warfare from Invasive Plants
From Growing Greener by Tom Christopher
April 8, 2026 · 29 min · Episode 357
About this episode
Dr. Susan Kalisz discusses how invasive plants use allelopathy to poison the soil and displace indigenous species.
One of the ways that invasive plants displace indigenous floras is "allelopathy." In a conversation first broadcast in February 2024, Dr. Susan Kalisz of the University of Tennessee Knoxville describes how many introduced plants actually poison the soil so that indigenous species cannot germinate or flourish in their former homes.
People in this episode
Host: Tom Christopher
Guest: Dr. Susan Kalisz
Topics covered
- invasive plants
- allelopathy
- indigenous flora
- soil poisoning
- environmental science
Keywords
- invasive species
- allelopathy
- soil health
- native plants
- ecology
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Tennessee Knoxville
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