Prioritizing Invasive Plant Management Strategies

Abstract Non-native aquatic Ludwigia species from a polyploid complex are among the world’s most problematic invasive plants. These emergent, floating-leaved species respond to disturbance through fragmentation of shoots and/or rhizomes, spreading rapidly by hydrochorous dispersal and posing challenges for invasive plant management. While recruitment of clonal aquatic plant species from shoot fragmentation is well documented, regeneration from rhizome bud banks, although common, often is overlooked. It is further unclear how interactions among ploidy and resource availability influence regeneration success of rhizome fragments. We conducted a full factorial experiment in aquatic mesocosms to compare trait responses of Ludwigia congeners differing in ploidy (diploid, decaploid) grown from clonal rhizome fragments under contrasting soil nutrient availability (low, high). Similar to previous work with shoot fragments, the diploid congener had a higher relative growth rate and produced more biomass than the decaploid during this establishment stage of growth. High growth rates and biomass production were associated with greater rhizome N and P and reduced investment in belowground structures. Comparing these results to previous shoot fragment studies with Ludwigia, rhizome fragments appear to have much greater growth potential, suggesting that management strategies should minimize disturbance to prevent fragmentation and dispersal of belowground structures. Furthermore, rapid response to newly colonizing diploid invaders will be essential to minimizing spread, and reductions in nutrient loads to aquatic environments may be more effective toward controlling establishment of the diploid congener than the decaploid.

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Experiences with invasive plant management and ecology in Alberta

Canadian Journal of Plant Science ◽

10.4141/cjps07119 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 87 (5) ◽

pp. 1013-1022 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

D. E. Cole ◽

J. R. King ◽

D. A. Oyarzun ◽

T. H. Dietzler ◽

A. S. McClay

Keyword(s):

Weed Management ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Grazing Management ◽

Integrated Weed Management ◽

Plant Management ◽

Invasive Plant Species ◽

Invasive Plant Management ◽

Ecological Principles ◽

Silene Pratensis

A number of invasive plant management strategies, including competition, fertilizer, herbicide, combination of fertilizer and herbicide, biological control, mowing, grazing management, prevention, eradication and education have been investigated and employed in Alberta. The integrated weed management (IWM) strategies are overlapping, interconnected and based on ecological principles. Research on several invasive plant species, including ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare Lam.), scentless chamomile [Tripleurospermum perforatum (Mérat) Laínz] and white cockle [Silene pratensis (Raf.) Godr. & Gren.] has provided ecological information showing the importance of maintaining healthy, competitive plant communities. Key words: Invasive plants, management, ox-eye daisy, competition, Alberta

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Implementing Strategic Weed Prevention Programs to Protect Rangeland Ecosystems

Invasive Plant Science and Management ◽

10.1614/ipsm-d-13-00075.1 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 233-242 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Brenda S. Smith ◽

Roger L. Sheley

Keyword(s):

Prevention Program ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Flow Model ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Prevention Programs ◽

Strategic Decision ◽

Plant Management ◽

Invasive Plant Management ◽

Proactive Management

Weed prevention is recognized as one of the most cost-effective management strategies for invasive plants. In the field of invasive plant management increasing emphasis is being directed toward proactive management. However, land managers are still somewhat reluctant to aggressively employ prevention programs. Part of this reluctance could be due to lack of understanding of what a comprehensive prevention program entails. The purpose of this paper is to improve strategic decision-making for site-specific prevention programs, such as those on ranches or in watersheds. Our interest is in advancing prevention planning for land managers—the people who are faced with the constant pressure of potential invasive species infestations on a day-to-day basis. To facilitate more widespread use of prevention programs we are proposing definitions for key terminology to standardize and facilitate communication about prevention programs. Additionally, we present a flow model with the steps necessary to successfully implement such programs. The model has three categories from which specific prevention planning occurs: (1) education, (2) early detection and eradication, and (3) interruption of movement. The flow model directs users through a series of interlinked steps. Finally, we provide a case study in which a ranch manager implemented a prevention program using this framework. By using this model, managers are poised to conduct more strategic planning. This model also has applications in outreach and education programs to assist land managers in prevention planning.

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Management of Landscapes for Established Invasive Species

Invasive Species in Forests and Rangelands of the United States ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-45367-1_7 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 133-184

Author(s):

Therese M. Poland ◽

Jennifer Juzwik ◽

Allen Rowley ◽

Cynthia D. Huebner ◽

John C. Kilgo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Great Basin ◽

Large Scale ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Plant Management ◽

Management Activity ◽

Invasive Plant Management ◽

Base Level ◽

Hydrologic Unit

AbstractLong-term management strategies are invoked once an invasive species has become established and spread beyond feasible limits for eradication or containment. Although an invasive species may be well-established in small to large geographical areas, prevention of its spread to non-affected areas (e.g., sites, regions, and cross-continent) through early detection and monitoring is an important management activity. The level for management of established invasive species in the United States has increasingly shifted to larger geographical scales in the past several decades. Management of an invasive fish may occur at the watershed level in the western States, with watershed levels defined by their hydrologic unit codes (HUC) ranging from 2 digits at the coarsest level to 8 digits at the finest level (USGS 2018). Invasive plant management within national forests, grasslands, and rangelands can be implemented at the landscape level (e.g., Chambers et al. 2014), although management can still occur at the stand or base level. Landscapes in this chapter refer to areas of land bounded by large-scale physiographic features integrated with natural or man-made features that govern weather and disturbance patterns and limit frequencies of species movement (Urban et al. 1987). These are often at a large physical scale, such as the Great Basin.

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A Path Forward: Promoting Microbial-Based Methods in the Control of Invasive Plant Species

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10050943 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 943

Author(s):

Maryam Shahrtash ◽

Shawn P. Brown

Keyword(s):

Invasive Plants ◽

Plant Pathogens ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Native Plants ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Plant Management ◽

Invasive Plant Species ◽

Invasive Plant Management ◽

Management Plans ◽

Microbe Interactions

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.

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Eradicating Bodies in Invasive Plant Management

Environment and Planning D Society and Space ◽

10.1068/d17712 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 31 (6) ◽

pp. 951-968 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Jennifer Atchison ◽

Lesley Head

Keyword(s):

Invasive Plant ◽

Plant Management ◽

Invasive Plant Management

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Drivers of Foliar Fungal Endophytic Communities of Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) in the Southeast United States

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d12050185 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 185

Author(s):

Maryam Shahrtash ◽

Shawn P. Brown

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Plant Pathogens ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Fungal Endophytes ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Environmental Parameters ◽

Plant Management ◽

Host Genotype ◽

Southeast United States ◽

Pueraria Montana

Fungal endophytes play important roles in plant fitness and plant–microbe interactions. Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) is a dominant, abundant, and highly aggressive invasive plant in the Southeast United States. Kudzu serves as a pathogen reservoir that impacts economically important leguminous crops. We conducted the first investigations on kudzu fungal endophytes (Illumina MiSeq—ITS2) to elucidate drivers of endophytic communities across the heart of the invasive range in the Southeast United States (TN, MS, AL, GA). We tested the impacts of multiple environmental parameters (Chlorophyll, NO3−, K+, soil pH, leaf area, host genotype, traffic intensity, and geographic location) on foliar endophyte communities. Endophytic communities were diverse and structured by many factors in our PerMANOVA analyses, but location, genotype, and traffic (proxy for pollution) were the strongest drivers of community composition (R2 = 0.152, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.129, p < 0.001, and R2 = 0.126, p < 0.001, respectively). Further, we examined the putative ecological interactions between endophytic fungi and plant pathogens. We identify numerous OTUs that are positively and strongly associated with pathogen occurrence, largely within the families Montagnulaceae and Tremellales incertae sedis. Taken together, these data suggest location, host genetics and local pollution play instrumental roles in structuring communities, and integrative plant management must consider these factors when developing management strategies.

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Influence of Neighboring Vegetation Height on Seed Dispersal: Implications for Invasive Plant Management

Weed Science ◽

10.1614/ws-07-067.1 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 55 (6) ◽

pp. 626-630 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Kirk W. Davies ◽

Roger L. Sheley

Keyword(s):

Seed Dispersal ◽

Invasive Plants ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Plant Management ◽

Wind Dispersal ◽

Invasive Plant Management ◽

Wind Speeds ◽

Plant Seeds ◽

Vegetation Height

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.

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Ecologically Based Invasive Plant Management: Step by Step

Rangelands ◽

10.2111/rangelands-d-12-00061.1 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 34 (6) ◽

pp. 6-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Roger L. Sheley ◽

Brenda S. Smith

Keyword(s):

Invasive Plant ◽

Plant Management ◽

Invasive Plant Management

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Developing minimal-input techniques for invasive plant management: perimeter treatments enlarge native grass patches

Invasive Plant Science and Management ◽

10.1017/inp.2020.9 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 108-113

Author(s):

Scott R. Abella ◽

Lindsay P. Chiquoine ◽

Jeremy M. Moss ◽

Eric D. Lassance ◽

Charles D. Schelz

Keyword(s):

Native Species ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Native Plants ◽

Perennial Grass ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Plant Management ◽

Native Grasses ◽

Native Grass ◽

Invasive Plant Management ◽

Wide Ring

AbstractThere is a continual need for invasive plant science to develop approaches for cost-effectively benefiting native over nonnative species in dynamic management and biophysical contexts, including within predominantly nonnative plant landscapes containing only small patches of native plants. Our objective was to test the effectiveness of a minimal-input strategy for enlarging native species patches within a nonnative plant matrix. In Pecos National Historical Park, New Mexico, USA, we identified 40 native perennial grass patches within a matrix of the nonnative annual forb kochia [Bassia scoparia (L.) A.J. Scott]. We mechanically cut B. scoparia in a 2-m-wide ring surrounding the perimeters of half the native grass patches (with the other half as uncut controls) and measured change in native grass patch size (relative to pretreatment) for 3 yr. Native grass patches around which B. scoparia was cut grew quickly the first posttreatment year and by the third year had increased in size four times more than control patches. Treated native grass patches expanded by an average of 25 m2, from 4 m2 in October 2015 before treatment to 29 m2 in October 2018. The experiment occurred during a dry period, conditions that should favor B. scoparia and contraction of the native grasses, suggesting that the observed increase in native grasses occurred despite suboptimal climatic conditions. Strategically treating around native patches to enlarge them over time showed promise as a minimal-input technique for increasing the proportion of the landscape dominated by native plants.

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