For many communities in B.C., the severe flooding in 2021 created multiple challenging outcomes. This summer, TWU student researcher Sarah Demian is looking into one particular ecological fallout: knotweed infestations.
Surveying B.C.’s Chilliwack River to locate the knotweed infestations 
Sarah’s research project, under the supervision of Dr. David Clements, is focused on surveying the Chilliwack River in B.C. to locate the knotweed infestations that occurred as a result of the 2021 floods.
Knotweed species can grow through concrete and asphalt, causing extensive and costly damage to infrastructure. The plant is incredibly invasive in North America and other parts of the world. According to the Invasive Species Council of BC, knotweed is “a top-ten invasive species” targeted for control in the province.
Sarah’s hope is that this study will help spread awareness about knotweed and provide data to inform knotweed management.
Sarah’s hope is that this study will help spread awareness about knotweed and provide data to inform knotweed management.
Sarah is the recipient of a NSERC USRA, a research grant awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada that provides funding for students to conduct research for 16 consecutive weeks on a full-time basis. Sarah’s project is called, “Characterizing the response of knotweed populations in riparian zones to extreme flooding.”
Contributing to knotweed management 
In addition to locating sites of knotweed infestation, Sarah will study the microsite characteristics of the streambank environment that encourage knotweed growth. “This is especially important,” she notes, “because herbicides cannot be used along waterways, thus eradication efforts along the river are extremely difficult.”
Sarah will study the microsite characteristics of the streambank environment that encourage knotweed growth. This is especially important as herbicides cannot be used along waterways, making eradication efforts along the river extremely difficult.
Sarah’s observations will produce knowledge that can be applied to future management control along riparian areas.
For her study, data collection will come from using a GPS tracker to complete the survey along the river. Sarah explains that to secure the coordinates of the knotweed growing on private property, the researchers will contact the homeowners and provide brochures to inform them of the dangers of knotweed. This work is being done in partnership with the Fraser Valley Invasive Species Society, who will provide the researchers with information about knotweed to use in the brochures.
This fall, Sarah is going into her third year of biology studies, with a concentration in psychology. As a student in the Pre-Medicine program, Sarah’s hope is to enter into medical school and become a physician.
See also — TWU researchers conduct chemical analysis of plant surface waxes as biomarkers for solving ecological questions
TWU News
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