Author
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VAN DRIESCHE, R - University Of Massachusetts |
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Center, Ted |
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Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter Publication Acceptance Date: 1/1/2013 Publication Date: 11/6/2013 Citation: Van Driesche, R., Center, T.D. 2013. Biological control of invasive plants in protected areas. Book Chapter. 7:561-597. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7750-7_26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7750-7_26 Interpretive Summary: Biological control of invasive plants is a form of ecological restoration in which high density, damaging populations of invasive plants, typically in natural areas, are reduced to densities that pose less of a burden on native biodiversity and allow ecosystems to avoid invasion-driven physical transformations. This result is achieved by harnessing the power of herbivory or fungal infections to lower the fitness of targeted invaders, allowing the intrinsic competitiveness of native plants to be more effective. If landscape-scale reduction of the target plant’s density is acceptable (as in the case of weeds with no economic value), projects seek to lower plant fitness directly, resulting in smaller infestations, slower spread, and reduced weed biomass. All components of the target plant – seeds, foliage, stems, etc. – can then be attacked. In contrast, if plants have important social or economic uses (such as some introduced forestry species in South Africa), then the project’s goals must be limited to the suppression of reproduction, selecting agents that attack only flowers or seeds. This can help limit the plant’s spread from economic use sites into wildlands and can support manual clearance of existing stands in natural areas by minimizing regeneration. Weed biological control is an ecological restoration method that is both safe and effective. In South Africa, for example,19 of 23(83%) projects were completely or partially successful and in Hawaii 10 of 21 (50%) targeted weeds were completely or partially suppressed. As part of a book project on alien plants in protected natural areas, we discuss the contribution of biological control to protection of natural areas and suggest steps for more complete integration of weed biological control into restoration ecology. Technical Abstract: Biological control of invasive plants is a form of ecological restoration in which high density, damaging populations of invasive plants, typically in natural areas, are reduced to densities that pose less of a burden on native biodiversity and allow ecosystems to avoid invasion-driven physical transformations. This result is achieved by harnessing the power of herbivory or fungal infections to lower the fitness of targeted invaders, allowing the intrinsic competitiveness of native plants to be more effective. If landscape-scale reduction of the target plant’s density is acceptable (as in the case of weeds with no economic value), projects seek to lower plant fitness directly, resulting in smaller infestations, slower spread, and reduced weed biomass. All components of the target plant – seeds, foliage, stems, etc. – can then be attacked. In contrast, if plants have important social or economic uses (such as some introduced forestry species in South Africa), then the project’s goals must be limited to the suppression of reproduction, selecting agents that attack only flowers or seeds. This can help limit the plant’s spread from economic use sites into wildlands and can support manual clearance of existing stands in natural areas by minimizing regeneration. Weed biological control is an ecological restoration method that is both safe and effective. In South Africa, for example,19 of 23(83%) projects were completely or partially successful and in Hawaii 10 of 21 (50%) targeted weeds were completely or partially suppressed. As part of a book project on alien plants in protected natural areas, we discuss the contribution of biological control to protection of natural areas and suggest steps for more complete integration of weed biological control into restoration ecology. |