ARS | Publication request: FIGHTING INVASIVE WEEDS: AMMUNITION OF THE FUTURE

Submitted to: Society for Range Management Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: August 17, 2004
Publication Date: February 1, 2005
Citation: Sheley, R.L. 2005. Fighting invasive weeds: ammunition of the future [abstract]. Society for Range Management. Paper No. 316.

Technical Abstract: The magnitude and complexity of non-indigenous weed problems demand the rapid development and implementation of innovative principles, concepts, and technology for fighting these serious invaders. Sample mapping and remote sensing offer opportunities for developing cost- and time- effective mapping methods. Effective prevention programs requires an understanding of spread vectors and methods for interrupting weed movement, identification of invasion resistant functional groups within plant communities, methods for managing in favor of these functional groups, and new tools, such as spread vector analysis. New methods of early detection include special sampling protocols, invasion risk analysis, and detector dogs. New containment strategies are desperately needed. Large-scale invasive plant management must be based on fundamental principles of ecology in order to ensure sustainability. Ecologic and economic thresholds of invasive weeds and desired plants must be used to develop decision-support tools for managing weeds on rangeland. In the future, managers will need an understanding the mechanisms and processes directing plant community change and methods for altering successional trajectories by manipulating them. Grazing, biological control, and herbicide applications must be used to address the underlying cause of weed invasion, rather than to temporarily control weeds, which a symptom. Augmentative restoration is a strategy that enhances ecological processes occurring at sufficient levels by selectively augmenting those processes that occur at inadequate levels in order to direct plant communities in a desirable direction.