Targeting Vulnerable Life-Stages of Sericea Lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata) with Prescribed Burns

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 487-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryant M. Wong ◽  
Gregory R. Houseman ◽  
Sarah E. Hinman ◽  
Bryan L. Foster
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Seedling Survival ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Lespedeza Cuneata ◽  
Sericea Lespedeza ◽  
Invasive Species Control

AbstractThere is growing interest in whether invasive species may be controlled by utilizing management strategies that target vulnerable life stages. We manipulated the timing of fire and measured its effects on sericea lespedeza germination and seedling survival. Although fire strongly decreased germination in the laboratory, fire increased germination under field conditions. Additionally, fire caused small decreases in seedling survival in the field. Therefore, controlled burns are likely to encourage spread of sericea lespedeza and are unlikely to effectively control this invasive species. Although targeting vulnerable life stages is a promising strategy for invasive species control, our results illustrate that system-specific studies may be needed to unravel potentially complex interactions between biotic and abiotic factors before effective control strategies can be devised.

scholarly journals Action on Invasive Species: Control Strategies of Parthenium hysterophorus L. on Smallholder Farms in Kenya

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Paul Tabe Ojong ◽  
Miguel Alvarez ◽  
Hanna J. Ihli ◽  
Mathias Becker ◽  
Thomas Heckelei
Keyword(s):  
Control Strategies ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Parthenium Hysterophorus ◽  
Probit Regression ◽  
Smallholder Farms ◽  
Invasive Species Control ◽  
Household Heads ◽  
Hand Weeding

AbstractParthenium hysterophorus L. (Asteraceae) is an invasive alien weed with detrimental effects on agricultural production, biodiversity, human and animal health, threating rural livelihoods in Asia and Africa. The problem emerged recently in the Kenyan Rift Valley, where it began to affect the landholdings of both agro-pastoralists and crop farmers. These vulnerable smallholders depend heavily on natural resources for their livelihoods. In this study, we assessed the severity of parthenium invasion and farmers’ management responses using a sample of 530 agro-pastoralists in Baringo County, Kenya, in 2019. We hypothesise that the implementation of existing management strategies depends on the state of parthenium invasion and household socio-economic characteristics. The prevalence and severity of parthenium invasion differed greatly among field plots. To control weeds, farmers resort to either hand weeding, the use of synthetic herbicides, or intensive tillage, sometimes in combination with mulching. A multivariate probit regression model shows that households’ characteristics determine the type of control strategies used as well as their complementarity and substitutability. Hand weeding is the most common option, adopted by almost 40% of farmers. The use of agrochemicals or soil-based control strategies appears to be related to knowledge and information characteristics such as access to extension services, membership in organisations and the educational level of household heads. While hand weeding and the use of synthetic herbicides depict significant substitutability, the latter strategy is limited to a few larger farms with market-oriented production. As parthenium invasion continues, policies need to improve farmer awareness and access to knowledge to enable pro-poor and environmentally sustainable control of parthenium on smallholder farms.

scholarly journals Modelling interference between vectors of non-persistently transmitted plant viruses to identify effective control strategies

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. e1009727
Author(s):  
Marta Zaffaroni ◽  
Loup Rimbaud ◽  
Ludovic Mailleret ◽  
Nik J. Cunniffe ◽  
Daniele Bevacqua
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Plant Disease ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Plant Viruses ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Agronomic Practices ◽  
Ecological Principles ◽  
Single Host ◽  
Primary Vector

Aphids are the primary vector of plant viruses. Transient aphids, which probe several plants per day, are considered to be the principal vectors of non-persistently transmitted (NPT) viruses. However, resident aphids, which can complete their life cycle on a single host and are affected by agronomic practices, can transmit NPT viruses as well. Moreover, they can interfere both directly and indirectly with transient aphids, eventually shaping plant disease dynamics. By mean of an epidemiological model, originally accounting for ecological principles and agronomic practices, we explore the consequences of fertilization and irrigation, pesticide deployment and roguing of infected plants on the spread of viral diseases in crops. Our results indicate that the spread of NPT viruses can be i) both reduced or increased by fertilization and irrigation, depending on whether the interference is direct or indirect; ii) counter-intuitively increased by pesticide application and iii) reduced by roguing infected plants. We show that a better understanding of vectors’ interactions would enhance our understanding of disease transmission, supporting the development of disease management strategies.

Analysis of Different Management Strategies for Annual Ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) Based on a Population Dynamic Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (12) ◽  
pp. 1830041 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Belén D’Amico ◽  
Guillermo L. Calandrini ◽  
José L. González-Andujar ◽  
Guillermo R. Chantre
Keyword(s):  
Weed Management ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Planning Horizon ◽  
Threshold Level ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Lolium Rigidum ◽  
Weed Species ◽  
Population Dynamic Model ◽  
Seed Bank Dynamics

Weed species present high competitive capacity, rapid adaptability and herbicide resistance, hindering their effective control across worldwide cropping regions. Since field-conducted experiments are very time-consuming and usually expensive, mathematical population-based models are valuable tools to test and develop long-term weed management programs. Within this context, the objective of this paper is to formalize analytically the possible seed bank dynamics of the Lolium rigidum, subjected to different control strategies. The first focus is on studying in detail the effects of integrating constant actions, promoting more environmentally and economically sustainable scenarios. From the same perspective, an alternative to applying time-variant programs is introduced. The proposed control guarantees that the weed population is sufficiently small or, alternatively, is kept below a given economic threshold level in a ten-year planning horizon. Furthermore, an optimization criterion is adopted for distributing necessary efficiency into diverse integrated options. Numerical simulations are included to illustrate the analytical findings.

Invasive Species Control Optimization as a Dynamic Spatial Process: An Application to Buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) in Arizona

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
İ. Esra Büyüktahtakin ◽  
Zhuo Feng ◽  
Aaryn D. Olsson ◽  
George Frisvold ◽  
Ferenc Szidarovszky
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Spatial Competition ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Spatial Process ◽  
Pennisetum Ciliare ◽  
Damage Indices ◽  
Invasive Species Control ◽  
Over Time

AbstractBuffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) is a fire-prone, African bunchgrass spreading rapidly across the southern Arizona desert. This article introduces a model that simulates buffelgrass spread over a gridded landscape over time to evaluate strategies to control this invasive species. Weed-carrying capacity, treatment costs, and damages vary across grid cells. Damage from buffelgrass depends on its density and proximity to valued resources. Damages include negative effects on native species (through spatial competition) and increased fire risk to land and buildings. We evaluate recommended “rule of thumb” control strategies in terms of their ability to prevent weed establishment in newly infested areas and to reduce damage indices over time. Two such strategies—potential damage weighting and consecutive year treatment—used in combination, provided significant improvements in long-term control over no control and over a strategy of minimizing current damages in each year. Results suggest specific recommendations for deploying rapid-response teams to prevent establishment in new areas. The long-run population size and spatial distribution of buffelgrass is sensitive to the priority given to protecting different resources. Land managers with different priorities may pursue quite different control strategies, posing a challenge for coordinating control across jurisdictions.

Genetic structure of introduced American mink (Neovison vison) in Patagonia: colonisation insights and implications for control and management strategies

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica Mora ◽  
Gonzalo Medina-Vogel ◽  
Maximiliano A. Sepúlveda ◽  
Daly Noll ◽  
Rocío Álvarez-Varas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Biological Invasions ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
American Mink ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Neovison Vison ◽  
Southern Chile ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Multiple Introductions ◽  
Mtdna Diversity

Context Biological invasions have caused dramatic changes in native biodiversity and ecosystem function. Studies of genetic variation and evolutionary changes are useful for understanding population dynamics during biological invasions, and shed light on management, prevention and restoration strategies. Aims This study aimed to investigate the structure and genetic variability of American mink (Neovison vison), an invasive species in southern South America, introduced for fur farming in the 1930s. Methods Samples from 153 mink were obtained from 12 locations in southern Chile to sequence the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region and to genotype 11 polymorphic microsatellite loci. Key results The highest mtDNA diversity was detected in Puerto Cisnes, suggesting multiple introductions and/or the most probable area where mink was first introduced. The latter is also supported by microsatellite data, because a high percentage of individuals from different locations were assigned to this location. All other locations showed low or no mtDNA diversity, possibly due to founder effect. The results also indicate marked population structure, with three genetic clusters coincident with the main historical introduction points, with low dispersal among them. Conclusions The results suggest that control strategies for American mink in southern Chile should be concentrated on these three genetically differentiated management units, and particularly on source populations and locations with low effective population size and restricted connectivity. Implications Genetic approaches have been used for the management of numerous alien species worldwide. Recommendations delivered here for American mink control could also be implemented in other regions and for other invasive species with similar genetic diversity distribution and connectivity.

scholarly journals Evidence-based economic analysis demonstrates that ecosystem service benefits of water hyacinth management greatly exceed research and control costs

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A Wainger ◽  
Nathan E Harms ◽  
Cedric Magen ◽  
Dong Liang ◽  
Genevieve M Nesslage ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Invasive Species ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Water Hyacinth ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Record Keeping ◽  
Invasive Species Control ◽  
Temporal Models ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Invasive species management can be a victim of its own success when decades of effective control cause memories of past harm to fade and raise questions of whether programs should continue. Economic analysis can be used to assess the efficiency of investing in invasive species control by comparing ecosystem service benefits to program costs, but only if appropriate data exist. We used a case study of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms), a nuisance floating aquatic plant, in Louisiana to demonstrate how comprehensive record-keeping supports economic analysis. Using long-term data sets, we developed empirical and spatio-temporal simulation models of intermediate complexity to project invasive species growth for control and no-control scenarios. For Louisiana, we estimated that peak plant cover would have been 76% higher without the growth rate suppression that appeared due primarily to biological control agents. Our economic analysis revealed that combined biological and herbicide control programs, monitored over an unusually long time period (1975-2013), generated a benefit-cost ratio of about 34:1 based on benefits to anglers, waterfowl hunters, boating-dependent businesses, and water treatment facilities. This work adds to the literature by 1) providing evidence of the effectiveness of water hyacinth biological control; 2) demonstrating use of parsimonious spatio-temporal models to estimate benefits of invasive control; and 3) incorporating substitutability into economic benefit transfer to avoid overstating benefits. Our study suggests that robust and cost-effective economic analysis is enabled by good record keeping and generalizable models that can demonstrate management effectiveness and promote social efficiency of invasive species control.

scholarly journals Evidence-based economic analysis demonstrates that ecosystem service benefits of water hyacinth management greatly exceed research and control costs

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4824 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Wainger ◽  
Nathan E. Harms ◽  
Cedric Magen ◽  
Dong Liang ◽  
Genevieve M. Nesslage ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Invasive Species ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Water Hyacinth ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Record Keeping ◽  
Invasive Species Control ◽  
Temporal Models ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Invasive species management can be a victim of its own success when decades of effective control cause memories of past harm to fade and raise questions of whether programs should continue. Economic analysis can be used to assess the efficiency of investing in invasive species control by comparing ecosystem service benefits to program costs, but only if appropriate data exist. We used a case study of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes(Mart.) Solms), a nuisance floating aquatic plant, in Louisiana to demonstrate how comprehensive record-keeping supports economic analysis. Using long-term data sets, we developed empirical and spatio-temporal simulation models of intermediate complexity to project invasive species growth for control and no-control scenarios. For Louisiana, we estimated that peak plant cover would be 76% higher without the substantial growth rate suppression (84% reduction) that appeared due primarily to biological control agents. Our economic analysis revealed that combined biological and herbicide control programs, monitored over an unusually long time period (1975–2013), generated a benefit-cost ratio of about 34:1 derived from the relatively modest costs of $124 million ($2013) compared to the $4.2 billion ($2013) in benefits to anglers, waterfowl hunters, boating-dependent businesses, and water treatment facilities over the 38-year analysis period. This work adds to the literature by: (1) providing evidence of the effectiveness of water hyacinth biological control; (2) demonstrating use of parsimonious spatio-temporal models to estimate benefits of invasive species control; and (3) incorporating activity substitution into economic benefit transfer to avoid overstating benefits. Our study suggests that robust and cost-effective economic analysis is enabled by good record keeping and generalizable models that can demonstrate management effectiveness and promote social efficiency of invasive species control.

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