Prioritizing Invasive Plant Management with Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew G. Hohmann ◽  
Michael G. Just ◽  
Peter J. Frank ◽  
Wade A. Wall ◽  
Janet B. Gray

AbstractPrioritizing management of invasive plants is important for large land management entities, such as federal and state public land stewards, because management resources are limited and multiple land uses and management objectives are differentially impacted. Management decisions also have important consequences for the likelihood of success and ultimate cost of control efforts. We applied multi-criteria decision analysis methods in a geographic information system using natural resource and land use data from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Landscape-scale prioritization was based on a hierarchical model designed to increase invasive plant management efficiencies and reduce the risk of impacts to key installation management goals, such as training-land management and protected species conservation. We also applied spatial sensitivity analyses to evaluate the robustness of the prioritization to perturbations of the model weights, which were used to describe the relative importance of different elements of the hierarchical model. Based on stakeholders' need for confidence in making management investments, we incorporated the results of the sensitivity analysis into the decision-making process. We identified high-priority sites that were minimally affected by the weight perturbations as being suitable for up-front management and evaluated how adopting this strategy affected management area, locations, and costs. We found that incorporating the results of the sensitivity analysis led to a reduced management area, different target locations, and lower costs for an equal area managed. Finally, we confirmed the distinctiveness of the approach by comparing this same subset of prioritized sites with locations representing species-centric strategies for three invasive plants and their aggregate distribution. By supplying pragmatic information about the localized effects of weighting uncertainty, spatial sensitivity analyses enhanced the invasive plant management decision-making process and increased stakeholder confidence.

Weed Science ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 626-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirk W. Davies ◽  
Roger L. Sheley

Controlling invasive plant infestations is very costly and often unsuccessful. Preventing invasions is more cost-effective than controlling invasive plants after they are established. Because prevention guidelines do not suggest any tools or methods to limit wind dispersal of invasive plant seeds, we investigated the influence of neighboring vegetation height on seed dispersal of a wind-dispersed (yellow salsify) and nonwind-dispersed (medusahead) species. To examine the influence of neighboring vegetation height on dispersal, seeds of both species were released in front of an artificial stand of desert wheatgrass in a modified wind tunnel. Treatments were a complete factorial design with two species, four vegetation heights (10, 30, 40, and 60 cm), three wind speeds (3, 5.5, and 10 km h−1), and three release distances from the neighboring vegetation (0, 15, and 30 cm). The ability of medusahead and yellow salsify seeds to disperse was influenced by the height of neighboring vegetation. Increasing height of neighboring vegetation decreased the number of yellow salsify seeds dispersing across neighboring vegetation. The greatest percentage of medusahead seeds dispersed across the neighboring vegetation was at the shortest height. Based on these results, we suggest that maintaining or promoting tall vegetation neighboring invasive plant infestations may reduce wind dispersal of seeds. More research is needed to investigate the influence of varying heights, densities, structural attributes, and composition of vegetation neighboring infestations and the dispersal of invasive plants.


2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 399-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia S. Brown ◽  
Val J. Anderson ◽  
Victor P. Claassen ◽  
Mark E. Stannard ◽  
Linda M. Wilson ◽  
...  

AbstractInvasive plants are a common problem in the management and restoration of degraded lands in the semiarid western United States, but are often not the primary focus of restoration ecologists. Likewise, restoring native vegetation has not been a major concern of weed scientists. But trends in the literature demonstrate increasing overlap of these fields, and greater collaboration between them can lead to improved efficacy of restoration efforts. Succession and ecosystem development are the products of complex interactions of abiotic and biotic factors. Our greatest restoration and invasive plant management successes should result when we take advantage of these natural processes. Recent shifts in management objectives have generated approaches to directing plant community development that utilize species that are strong competitors with invasive species as a bridge to the establishment of native perennial vegetation. Soil water and nutrient characteristics and their interactions can affect desired and undesired plant species differentially and may be manipulated to favor establishment and persistence of desired perennial plant communities. Selection of appropriate plant materials is also essential. Species assemblages that suppress or exclude invaders and competitive plant materials that are well adapted to restoration site conditions are important keys to success. We provide guidelines for restoration based on the fundamental ecological principles underlying succession. Knowledge of the complex interactions among the biotic and abiotic factors that affect successional processes and ecosystem development, and increased collaboration between weed scientists and restoration ecologists hold promise for improving restoration success and invasive species management.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Yuliana

<p>Threats on biodiversity in a conservation area can originated from outside or inside the area.  One of the outsiders that rarely noticeable is invasion of exotic species, which usually alters the stability of natural processes within the area. Wasur National Park has some wetland ecosystems that overcome the issues of deterioration in function and benefits due to exotic plant invasion in recent days. This research was carried out to determine priority species that need immediately managements in Wasur National Park.  Field survey and inventory followed by scoring and evaluation methods using Weed Risk Assessment by Exotic Species Ranking System were taken in this research to obtain the priority species. The scoring and ranking steps placed encountered invasive plant species into four categories of management priority based on Significance of Impact and the Feasibility of Control. The result identified 49 species of invasive plants from three wetlands in Wasur National Park, which 75% (or 36 species) of them are species of Priority 3 (lesser threat and easy to control), 4 species of Priority 4 (lesser threat – hard to control) and at least 9 species of Priority 2 (serious threat-hard to control).  Priority 2 species consist of <em>Carex</em> sp., <em>Eleocharis indica</em> (Lour.) Druce, <em>Hanguana malayana</em> (Jack.) Merr., <em>Imperata cylindrica</em> (L.) Beauv., <em>Ludwigia oktovalvis</em> (Jacq.) Raven, <em>Melaleuca cajuputi</em>  Powell, <em>M. leucadendron</em> (Linn.), <em>Paspalum</em> <em>conjugatum</em> P. J. Bergius, and <em>Stachytareta jamaicensis</em> (L.).  These invasive plants need to be managed properly and thoroughly further.</p>


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
S. Christopher Marble ◽  
Stephen H. Brown

Plant invasions pose a serious threat to biodiversity, agricultural production, and land value throughout the world. Due to Florida’s unique climate, population expansion, expansive coastline, and number of seaports, the state is especially vulnerable to non-native plant naturalization and spread. Invasive plant management programs were shown to have higher success rates with fewer resources when invasives were managed soon after non-native plants were observed. However, some newly emerging invasive plants may go undetected due to their resemblance with native species or other invasive plants. The objective of this review is to highlight a few key invasive plants in Florida that have native lookalikes. While morphological differences are discussed, the primary goal is to discuss management implications of misidentification and delayed response times, as well as the need for plant identification guides that include information on how to distinguish problematic invasive plants from similar native species.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 943
Author(s):  
Maryam Shahrtash ◽  
Shawn P. Brown

In this review, we discuss the unrealized potential of incorporating plant–microbe and microbe–microbe interactions into invasive plant management strategies. While the development of this as a viable strategy is in its infancy, we argue that incorporation of microbial components into management plans should be a priority and has great potential for diversifying sustainable control options. We advocate for increased research into microbial-mediated phytochemical production, microbial controls to reduce the competitiveness of invasive plants, microbial-mediated increases of herbicidal tolerance of native plants, and to facilitate increased pathogenicity of plant pathogens of invasive plants.


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirk W. Davies ◽  
Dustin D. Johnson

AbstractInvasive plants are negatively affecting the ecological and economic production of rangelands by reducing resource productivity, decreasing biodiversity, displacing native vegetation, and altering ecosystem processes and functions. However, despite these well-known negative effects, once invasive plants are regionally established, limited effort is directed at preventing their continued spread across rangelands. Most efforts are directed at restoration at specific locations while additional rangelands are invaded. Restoring native plant communities invaded by exotic plants is frequently unsuccessful, especially in more arid environments, and is often too costly to apply at the scale required to make meaningful progress in reducing invasive plant populations relative to their expansion. Of the few prevention efforts being implemented, most are a second priority to control and restoration efforts. Integrating strategies to prevent new infestations and restrict the expansion of existing populations in invasive plant management programs is critical to limiting the negative effects of invasive plants in rangelands. However, we are “missing the boat” on this issue by not providing sufficiently developed and validated management actions. Limited information is available for developing management strategies to prevent the spread of invasive plants, although it has been suggested that land managers need to increase biotic resistance of desired plant communities, decrease invasive plant propagule pressure, and eradicate small incipient infestations to prevent the continued expansion of invasive plants. Thus, instead of scientifically validated methods developed to limit the spread of invasive plants, managers are often left with vague suggestions for preventing the continued spread of invasive plants. We suggest that if prevention is going to be successful, researchers are going to need to conduct more applied research to provide land managers with specific prevention strategies and quantify the benefits of various prevention strategies.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 951-968 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Atchison ◽  
Lesley Head

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Dana Indra Sensuse ◽  
Wiliam Suhaidir

Penelitian ini membahas tentang perancangan Digital Dashboard System pada PT XYZ dan dampaknya pada perusahaan tersebut dalam hal pengambilan keputusan. Digital Dashboard dirancang untuk dapat menyajikan sensitivity analysis kinerja keuangan rugi-labarugi-laba PT XYZ. Pada penelitian ini, proses perancangan Digital Dashboard dimulai dari identifikasi variabel, identifikasi user requirement, perancangan user interface hingga proses pengujian. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa Digital Dashboard yang baik harus dapat merepresentasikan data yang padat dengan tampilan yang efisien, menarik dan mudah untuk dimengerti. Penelitian ini juga menyatakan bahwa Digital Dashboard yang baik dapat meningkatkan efektifitas eksekutif perusahaan dalam proses pengambilan keputusan. This study discusses the design of the Digital Dashboard System on PT XYZ and its impact on the company in terms of decision making. Digital Dashboard is designed to provide sensitivity analysis of financial performance of PT XYZ's income statement. In this study, the Digital Dashboard design process starts from the identification of variables, identification of user requirements, designing the user interface to the testing process. The results of this study indicate that the good Digital Dashboard should be able to represent the solid data with the efficient view, attractive and easy to understand. The study also states that the good Digital Dashboard can improve the effectiveness of corporate executives in decision-making process.


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