As I've lived in the woods here I've watched a LOT of thistle life. It grows thick when people clear ground(logging, clearing brush). I can also see it is very picky about conditions--fullsun, bare soil. It doesn't grow in the woods nor sprout much in the nice thick unmown meadow/prairies. The seeds fly about all over like and drift like snow here, so there is an incredible amount of seeds EVERYWHERE, yet I can see germination rate is low, and obviously super low for places it does not like to grow.
Thistle has a long taproot, and I see it decomposes VERY fast(you wouldn't think so with it's thorns and stiff leaves, but it does). So I'm thinking it's a tool for nature to repair compacted bare ground--it breaks it up with the
roots and makes new duf with the leaves.
So my question is, I know stuff like comfrey brings nutrients up from
underground to deposit on top of the soil to nourish the top, and there are other plants nature designed to do this. I'm wondering how I can find out what nutrients thistle likes to bring up? I have been chopping/pulling it and bringing to my garden for mulch/compost(before the seeds blow of
course ) to no apparent ill effect. I like how it rots quickly, and the thorns also disappear.
Anyways, of course people around here HATE the thistle and it's an ongoing battle to killkillkill it. Personally after watching it I dont' think it's that bad of a weed--but if you want to keep scraping your ground and overgrazing your field..... well it's your own fault!
I'm also wondering about poison oak and it's role. So far it's great to keep out random hunters and tresspassers!