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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Burns, Oregon » Range and Meadow Forage Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #286939
Title: Linking ecological principles to tools and strategies in an EBIPM program

Author
item DITOMASO, JOSEPH - University Of California
item Smith, Brenda

Submitted to: Rangelands
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/25/2012
Publication Date: 12/1/2012
Citation: Ditomaso, J.M., Smith, B.S. 2012. Linking ecological principles to tools and strategies in an EBIPM program. Rangelands. 34(6):30-34.

Interpretive Summary: This article is intended to provide land managers with examples of how the land management tools of herbicides and grazing can be used in an ecologically-based invasive plant management program. It is important to understand how these tools are impacting ecological processes to move the plant communities to a more desired state. As a result of using tools in this manner, more effective and lasting changes to the plant communities will occur.

Technical Abstract: In ecosystems that are heavily invaded, it is common for the level of degradation to become so intense that the native plant seedbank is reduced. In these cases, active restoration that includes revegetation efforts and stress manipulations through herbicide use, tillage, periodic flooding, prescribed burning, or timely strategic grazing are often necessary to recover certain ecosystem functions. Selectively is critical when developing an effective weed management program. Both strategic grazing and herbicides can be applied selectively to alter the trajectory of a plant community to a more desired and functional state.