Recognition that alien plants pose a significant threat to biodiversity has not always translated into effective management strategies, policy reforms, and systems to establish priorities. Thus, many alien plant management decisions for the protection of biodiversity occur with limited knowledge of what needs to be protected (other than biodiversity in a generalized sense) or the urgency of actions. To rectify this, we have developed a triage system that enables alien plant management decisions to be made based on (1) the urgency of control relative to the degree of threat posed to biodiversity, compared with (2) the likelihood of achieving a successful conservation outcome as a result of alien plant control. This triage system is underpinned by a two-step approach, which identifies the biodiversity at risk and assesses sites to determine priorities for control. This triage system was initially developed to manage the threat posed by bitou bush to native species in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It has subsequently been improved with the national assessment of lantana in Australia, and the adaptation from a single to multiple alien plant species approach on a regional scale. This triage system identifies nine levels of priority for alien plant management aimed at biodiversity conservation, ranging from immediate, targeted action to limited or no action. The development of this approach has enabled long-term management priorities to be set for widespread alien plants that are unlikely to be eradicated. It also enables control to occur in a coordinated manner for biodiversity conservation at a landscape scale, rather than as a series of individual unconnected short-term actions.

Fire is unlikely to be a simple, deterministic process that will result in increased rates of invasion by nonnative plants. Relative dominance of nonnative plants at any postfire site likely results from a combination of factors, including propagule pressure (aboveground and belowground), time since invasion, interspecific competition, disturbance history, rainfall patterns, soil nutrients, environmental heterogeneity, land use, plus the actual fire dynamics. Consequently, the role different factors play in nonnative plant invasion is still relatively unexplained, and the possibility that wildfire may promote nonnative plant species remains a concern. Our aim was to evaluate the state of knowledge concerning how nonnative plant species establish, survive, and spread following wildfire in wildland areas for the main vegetation types of the Intermountain West. Although the particular invading species varied with vegetation type, the most frequently reported species were annual grasses (e.g., downy brome [Bromus tectorum], Japanese brome [Bromus japonicus]) and long-distance, dispersing forbs (e.g., Canada thistle [Cirsium arvense], common dandelion [Taraxacum officinale], and prickly lettuce [Lactuca serriola]). Overall, many of the reviewed studies found an increase, followed by a long-term decline, in nonnative species after wildfire, particularly when other disturbances were minimal. Regardless of this finding, many people consider rapid detection and control of new, nonnative plant populations after wildfire one of the most effective management activities. That axiom may be correct, if the nonnative propagule pressure is high and the anthropogenic disturbances are frequent, but if this is not the case the question to answer is whether immediate management, including reseeding, will benefit the system or whether off-target effects could make that approach undesirable. Continued investigation and increased quantitative analysis of the complex factors that likely contribute to changes in nonnative plants dynamics following wildfire should improve our understanding of the issue and assist managers in allocating limited resources.

Cogongrass is a highly invasive, perennial grass that is found on all continents, except Antarctica. It continues to spread at an alarming rate in the southeastern United States. Cogongrass has been reported from a wide array of habitats; however, soils from areas where cogongrass grows have never been characterized. Live cogongrass plants, herbarium specimens, and soil samples were collected from 53 cogongrass populations from across the 10 physiographic regions and land use areas in Mississippi. Cogongrass leaf and inflorescence morphology varied among sites, and plants were found in soils varying widely in texture (ranging from 28 to 86% sand, 3 to 48% silt, and 6 to 43% clay), organic matter content (ranging from 0.9 to 5.0%), pH (ranging from 4.4 to 8.0), and nutrient status: 6 to 190 kg ha−1 (15 to 470 lb A−1) of phosphorus (P), 46 to 734 kg ha−1 of potassium (K), 150 to 7,620 kg ha−1 of calcium (Ca), 26 to 1,090 kg ha−1 of magnesium (Mg), 1 to 190 kg ha−1 of zinc (Zn), 145 to 800 kg ha−1 of estimated sulfur (S) based on organic matter, and 57 to 300 kg ha−1 of sodium (Na). These soil parameters were highly variable among cogongrass populations, even within physiographic regions or land use areas, and encompassed much of the soil physiochemical diversity within the state. Soil characteristics were significantly correlated with leaf length (Ca, K, Mg, P, Zn, and percentage of sand and silt), leaf width (Ca, P, Mg, and percentage of sand and silt), the leaf length-to-width ratio (K and P), inflorescence length (Na, P, and pH), inflorescence width (S, organic matter, and pH), and the inflorescence length-to-width ratio (S and organic matter). These data indicate that cogongrass is able to establish, emerge, grow, and reproduce on a wide array of soils in Mississippi. This ability provides cogongrass an advantage over other plant species that are more limited in the soil types that support their growth.

Auxinic herbicides, such as 2,4-D and dicamba, that act as plant growth regulators are commonly used for broadleaf weed control in cereal crops (e.g., wheat, barley), grasslands, and noncroplands. If applied at late growth stages, while cereals are developing reproductive parts, the herbicides can reduce seed production. We tested whether growth regulators have this same effect on the invasive annual grass Japanese brome. The herbicides 2,4-D, dicamba, and picloram were applied at typical field use rates to Japanese brome at various growth stages in a greenhouse. Picloram reduced seed production nearly 100% when applied at the internode elongation, boot, or heading stages of growth, whereas dicamba appeared to be slightly less effective and 2,4-D was much less effective. Our results indicate it may be possible to control Japanese brome by using growth regulator herbicides to reduce its seed production, thereby depleting its short-lived seed bank.

Null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) forms the backbone of statistical inference in invasive plant science. Over 95% of research articles in Invasive Plant Science and Management report NHST results such as P-values or statistics closely related to P-values such as least significant differences. Unfortunately, NHST results are less informative than their ubiquity implies. P-values are hard to interpret and are regularly misinterpreted. Also, P-values do not provide estimates of the magnitudes and uncertainties of studied effects, and these effect size estimates are what invasive plant scientists care about most. In this paper, we reanalyze four datasets (two of our own and two of our colleagues; studies put forth as examples in this paper are used with permission of their authors) to illustrate limitations of NHST. The re-analyses are used to build a case for confidence intervals as preferable alternatives to P-values. Confidence intervals indicate effect sizes, and compared to P-values, confidence intervals provide more complete, intuitively appealing information on what data do/do not indicate.

The number of invasive exotic plant species establishing in the United States is continuing to rise. When prevention of exotic species from entering into a country fails at the national level and the species establishes, reproduces, spreads, and becomes invasive, the most successful action at a local level is early detection followed by eradication. We have developed a simple geographic information system (GIS) analysis for developing watch lists for early detection of invasive exotic plants that relies upon currently available species distribution data coupled with environmental data to aid in describing coarse-scale potential distributions. This GIS analysis tool develops environmental envelopes for species based upon the known distribution of a species thought to be invasive and represents the first approximation of its potential habitat while the necessary data are collected to perform more in-depth analyses. To validate this method we looked at a time series of species distributions for 66 species in Pacific Northwest and northern Rocky Mountain counties. The time series analysis presented here did select counties that the invasive exotic weeds invaded in subsequent years, showing that this technique could be useful in developing watch lists for the spread of particular exotic species. We applied this same habitat-matching model based upon bioclimatic envelopes to 100 invasive exotics with various levels of known distributions within continental U.S. counties. For species with climatically limited distributions, county watch lists describe county-specific vulnerability to invasion. Species with matching habitats in a county would be added to that county's list. These watch lists can influence management decisions for early warning, control prioritization, and targeted research to determine specific locations within vulnerable counties. This tool provides useful information for rapid assessment of the potential distribution based upon climate envelopes of current distributions for new invasive exotic species.

Hybridization between two introduced plant species can influence the invasion capabilities of the exotic taxa, but the role of hybridization will likely differ in different invasions, even of the same species. Until now, studies concerning the ploidy of Japanese knotweed, giant knotweed, and their hybrids have been conducted in Europe or native ranges in Asia. Here, we assess the role of hybridization and ploidy in a U.S. invasion. We use flow cytometry to characterize DNA content in (1) established families in a common garden, (2) seedlings grown from common garden parents, and (3) wild populations. We also measured fertility in the garden and the field and vegetative growth traits in the garden. Although the majority of our parental and hybrid samples had ploidy levels previously documented in Europe (4X and 8X for parental species; 6X for hybrids), we found a wider range of knotweed cytotypes established in our garden (4X, 6X, 7X, 8X, 9X, and 10X) and additionally detected 5X, 11X, 12X, and possibly 14X ploidy levels in progeny from garden seed parents. The unexpected cytotypes were not confined to the greenhouse or common garden, in that all < 11X ploidy levels were also found in field populations in Massachusetts. In several cases, these data contradicted our expectations on the basis of morphological and molecular analysis, suggesting both significant introgression and the introduction of multiple cytotypes from Asia. With one exception (14X), we found all cytotypes were capable of strong vegetative growth, seed set, and the production of viable pollen. Without barriers to sexual reproduction, introgression is expected to progress, creating a progressively more diverse swarm of invasive genotypes.

Invasive plants have devastating effects on ecosystems and biodiversity that early intervention can prevent. Eradication or containment of new invasions is difficult to achieve because of constraints posed by the low density and detectability of individuals. Domestic dogs trained to cue on distinctive scents might provide an effective method to detect spotted knapweed. The objective of this study was to compare the accuracy and detection distances of dogs to humans in locating new spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe) invasions. Three dogs, trained to detect knapweed using scent discrimination and tracking techniques, were compared with human surveyors. Seven sampling units (0.5 ha [1.2 ac]) were delineated in a grazed dryland pasture. Dogs, with their handlers, and human surveyors performed line-transect surveys in fall 2005 and spring, summer, and fall 2006. Dog accuracy for large-size knapweed targets (infestations 0.52 m3 [18.4 ft3]) was similar to human accuracy and better than humans (94 vs. 78%) for medium-size targets (infestations 0.13m3). Dog accuracy (67%) was greater (> 81% probability) than humans (34%) for small targets (plants; 0.02 m3). Overall dog accuracy (81%) and F-measure scores (86%) were better than human scores, 59% and 74%, respectively. Human precision was greater (100%) than dogs at 94%. Dogs detected a larger percentage of small targets (80%) at distances greater than 7.9 m (26 ft) compared with humans at only 20%. Our results indicate dogs are more accurate than humans are, especially at critical detection of small spotted knapweed plants, and from greater distances. Invasive plant monitoring using detection dogs can provide greater overall accuracy of plant detection.

Habitat suitability and disturbance can shape the early stages of biological invasions in important ways. Much that we know about habitat suitability and invasion originates from point-in-time studies, which characterize invasive plant abundance and associated site characteristics. In our study, we tested the influence of habitat suitability by creating small-scale invasions in a range of environments. Seeds of the invasive annual grass Japanese stiltgrass [Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) A. Camus] were planted into six environments in a deciduous forest in central Pennsylvania, and patch growth was monitored for 4 yr. Each of the 30 sites included a subplot subjected to litter disturbance at time of planting. This litter disturbance led to increased seedling recruitment only in the first 2 yr. Although patches were generally larger in wetland and roadside habitats, site influence was highly variable. Environmental variables (soil moisture, ammonium–N, pH, and plant species richness) measured in each plot were better predictors of population success than broad habitat categories. We conclude that risk assessment for species such as M. vimineum should focus not on habitat types but on areas likely to experience the physical changes that release M. vimineum populations.

Natural grasslands are one of the most threatened ecosystems in North America. Conservation efforts are often hampered by exotic plant invasions in existing remnant natural grasslands. Tall fescue [Schedonorus phoenix (Scop.) Holub.] is an introduced cool-season (C3) forage/turf grass which readily invades natural grasslands in Kentucky and neighboring states. Our study objectives were to (1) compare the efficacy and application timing effect of clethodim to that of imazapic to selectively remove tall fescue from natural grasslands and (2) evaluate the response of the nontarget grassland plant community (i.e., native grass and forb canopy cover) following herbicide treatments. Clethodim and imazapic treatments consisted of early (April 4, 2001) and late (April 20, 2001) applications, and these were applied at 0.23 and 0.21 kg ai ha−1, respectively. Both herbicides reduced tall fescue cover (P ≤ 0.05); herbicide application timing had no effect on herbicide efficacy to control tall fescue. Native grass cover was higher (P ≤ 0.05) in all herbicide-treated plots compared to the untreated controls, except for the late clethodim-treated plots. All herbicide treatments increased forb abundance compared to controls. Spring applications of clethodim were equally effective to those of imazapic at controlling tall fescue in natural grasslands. Imazapic released native grasses better than clethodim, whereas clethodim was better at increasing forb abundance. Furthermore, early clethodim treatments had fewer nontarget effects on native C4 grasses compared to late clethodim treatments. Overall, clethodim shows promise as a beneficial management tool for tall fescue control in C4-dominated natural grasslands.

Successful colonization of newly introduced species is driven by a multitude of factors and is highly dependent on the species. It has long been hypothesized that preadaptation and postestablishment natural selection of introduced species can facilitate their invasion; however, to date, limited research has been dedicated to these theories. In addition, although the correlation between establishment of invasive species and disturbance has been noted and widely studied, the susceptibility of undisturbed habitats to invasion remains unclear. In California, serpentine habitats are severe edaphic environments that have been relatively free of anthropogenic disturbance and nonindigenous species invasions. In this study, we documented the occurrence of the nonindigenous barb goatgrass on serpentine and nonserpentine grasslands in the California Northern Interior Coast Range and the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and conducted greenhouse and field experiments to assess the species' degree of adaptation to serpentine soils. Reconnaissance of serpentine intrusions and yearly monitoring suggest that barb goatgrass may grow preferentially on serpentine soil, particularly disturbed serpentine sites. In the greenhouse, for most measures of performance, serpentine populations performed better than nonserpentine populations when grown on serpentine soil. Particularly noteworthy was that serpentine populations had higher root-mass ratios than nonserpentine populations when grown on serpentine soil. In contrast to the greenhouse study, field-grown populations from serpentine and nonserpentine sources performed equally well on nonserpentine; alluvial, disturbed serpentine; and shallow, undisturbed serpentine, although the overall species' performance was diminished on severe serpentine soils. Alarmingly, even in the absence of previous exposure to serpentine, barb goatgrass was capable of establishing and spreading into minimally disturbed sites with strong serpentinitic characteristics.

White sweetclover and narrowleaf hawksbeard are nonindigenous invasive plant species in Alaska that are rapidly spreading, including into areas that are otherwise free of nonindigenous plants. There has been concern that native moose could be dispersing germinable seed from these plants after ingestion. To address this concern, a study was conducted involving tame moose at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station, Matanuska Experiment Farm, Palmer, AK. Objectives were to determine if seeds from these two plant species could survive mastication and digestive passage through moose, whether this passage impacted seed germination, and whether seed passage rates were the same as similar sized Cr-mordanted fiber. In this study, narrowleaf hawksbeard seed rarely survived mastication and digestion with only five seedlings recovered from 42,000 germinable seed fed to the moose. About 16% of germinable white sweetclover seed (3,595 of 22,000) fed to the moose produced seedlings. Most of the sweetclover seedlings came from feces produced 2 and 3 d after feeding. In two moose, sweetclover seedlings were grown from fecal material that was passed 11 d after feeding, raising the possibility that seeds could be transported long distances after ingestion. Cr-mordanted fiber passage did not closely follow seedling producing seed, possibly because time in the rumen might reduce seed germination. Once roadsides in Alaska become infested with white sweetclover, moose can then serve as a transport vector of these weeds into river channels and floodplains, which are distant from roads. This information will impact white sweetclover management programs and alert land managers to the potential for other instances of wildlife-mediated seed dispersal.

Invasive plant species degrade ecosystems in many ways. Controlling invasive plants is costly for government agencies, businesses, and individuals. North central Colorado is currently experiencing large-scale disturbance, and millions of acres are vulnerable to invasion because of natural and socioeconomic processes. Mountain pine beetles typically endemic to this region have reached epidemic proportions, with up to 80% tree mortality, which opens growing space for invasive plants. In socioeconomic terms, the popularity of this amenity-rich region for tourists and in-migrants has resulted in increased development, often bordering the public land that is common in the American West. Increased recreational access and the construction of new roads and infrastructure disturb ecosystems in an increasingly fragmented landscape. A survey was mailed to more than 4,000 households in a five-county region of north central Colorado to gauge public awareness and attitudes regarding invasive plant species, helping to illuminate whether the public shows a capacity to help land managers detect and respond to invasive plants before they profoundly alter the local ecosystem. Although 88% of respondents had heard or read about invasive plant species, far fewer were familiar with specific, locally targeted species, and fewer still had taken any action to control these species. The overall awareness and concern about invasive plants in the area indicated a capacity for more public participation in management.

Land managers have long identified a critical need for a practical and effective framework for designing restoration strategies, especially where invasive plants dominate. A holistic, ecologically based, invasive plant management (EBIPM) framework that integrates ecosystem health assessment, knowledge of ecological processes, and adaptive management into a successional management model has recently been proposed. However, well-defined principles that link ecological processes that need to be repaired to tools and strategies available to managers have been slow to emerge, thus greatly limiting the ability of managers to easily apply EBIPM across a range of restoration scenarios. The broad objective of this article is to synthesize current knowledge of the mechanisms and processes that drive plant community succession into ecological principles for EBIPM. Using the core concepts of successional management that identify site availability, species availability, and species performance as three general drivers of plant community change, we detail key principles that link management tools used in EBIPM to the ecological processes predicted to influence the three general causes of succession. Although we acknowledge that identification of principles in ecology has greatly lagged behind other fields and recognize that identification of ecological principles and the conditions in which they hold are still being developed, we demonstrate how current knowledge and future advances can be used to structure a holistic EBIPM framework that can be applied across a range of restoration scenarios.

In the Great Basin of the western United States, expansion of Pinus monophylla (singleleaf piñyon) and Juniperus osteosperma (Utah juniper) out of historic woodlands and into Artemisia spp. (sagebrush) shrubland communities can facilitate the invasion of exotic downy brome (Bromus tectorum) and lead to decreases in ecological and economic values of shrublands. This expansion has, therefore, been the focus of management efforts, including the thinning or removal of trees in areas that were historically shrubland. Our study examined the effects of tree thinning at two sites located in eastern Nevada, near the center of the Great Basin. Such projects can be controversial, so our goal was to estimate and document the ecological effects of low-disturbance tree thinning at these two sites. Both sites were mechanically thinned using a feller-buncher and were aerially seeded with native grasses. Aerial seeding had no apparent effect at either site. The site that had lower tree cover before treatment (Ely, NV) showed an increase in native forbs and a small increase in invasives. The site that initially had very high tree cover and low shrub cover (Mt. Wilson, NV) showed increases in native forbs and species diversity and a substantial increase in invasives. We conclude that low-disturbance methods for thinning encroaching trees can have positive ecological effects in shrublands but that the initial cover of both trees and native herbaceous species should be considered to determine the potential of the site to recover naturally from the seedbank and the risk of invasion by downy brome.

Japanese knotweed (JK) is one of the most aggressive invasive plants known in the U.K., where its biology has been well-studied. It was introduced into Canada around 1900, but only recently has it become a serious concern in the province of British Columbia (BC). Climatic conditions, including annual degree days and mean-annual minimum temperatures at knotweed sites in British Columbia were modeled in BioSIM, using weather normals and long-term daily weather data, and compared to published thresholds (degree day = 2,505 DD, minimum temperature = −30.2 C, base temperature 0 C). The degree-day threshold was more limiting to JK in British Columbia than mean-minimum temperature (12.3% of province habitat was suitable for JK based on degree days compared with 26% for mean-minimum temperature). A new annual-precipitation threshold of 735 mm/year based on 95% of known knotweed sites in BC was identified. The best-fit logistic regression model included degree days and annual precipitation and predicted knotweed presence/absence with over 97% efficiency. Existing knotweed sites occupy just over half of the suitable habitat in BC, indicating there are still significant areas to be invaded. The limiting threshold for knotweed was reversed in Southern Ontario with between 35 to 53% of the habitat suitable based on minimum temperatures, whereas degree-day accumulations and annual precipitation were not limiting. Warmer temperatures from 2000 to 2008 resulted in an increase to 53% of the habitat in Southern Ontario being suitable for knotweed, compared to 35% when 1971 to 2000 weather normals were used. Different climatic thresholds among provinces might result in selection for different invasive knotweed genotypes. This could influence the success of biological control agents because of differential host suitability of knotweed genotypes. Habitat suitability maps generated will enable better targeting of knotweed surveys based on the risk of knotweed establishment.

Lepidium latifolium (perennial pepperweed) is recognized as a threat to wetland habitats throughout much of the western United States, but its role in tidal marshes has not been explored. Over three seasons in three regions of San Francisco Estuary (Suisun, San Pablo, and South San Francisco bays), we characterized locations in tidal marshes where monotypic stands of L. latifolium are replacing the native Sarcocornia pacifica (pickleweed). Soils within L. latifolium stands had significantly lower moisture, salinity, organic matter, and carbon : nitrogen (C : N) and higher pH than in adjacent S. pacifica stands at similar elevation and distance from channels. In addition, L. latifolium canopies were 2 to 3 times taller, thus increasing light reaching soils, and tended to support different insect/spider assemblages (sampled only at the Suisun site). Patterns were generally consistent across the three sites, although less pronounced for some measures at the South Bay site. Overall, these data suggest that L. latifolium invasion of tidal marshes is leading to modification of both structural and functional properties, several of which might further facilitate spread of the invader; however, additional study is needed to determine cause vs. effect for several soil characteristics.

Brown flatsedge (Cyperus fuscus) is widely distributed in Europe, Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and the Mediterranean region of Northern Africa. It was apparently introduced into North America in the late 1800s and has steadily moved southward and westward. Brown flatsedge is reported new to Arkansas and Mississippi herewith. Field observations from early spring until frost were made between 2003 and 2007 from populations present at three sites: Chicot County, Arkansas, and Pearl River and Washington counties, Mississippi. Under natural field conditions, brown flatsedge plants germinated from late March and early April until frost. Inflorescences were observed in mid-May and seed production continued until frost. In field populations, the average numbers of scales per spikelet, inflorescences per plant, and spikelets per inflorescence were 15, 28, and 33, respectively. Greenhouse experiments were established in 2008 at Stoneville, MS, to determine growth parameters and the reproductive potential of brown flatsedge. In greenhouse experiments, by 10 wk after emergence (WAE), brown flatsedge plants were 30.2 cm tall and 63.9 cm in diameter, and dry weights were 1.4, 1.0, 2.0, 0.5, and 1.9 g for roots, culms, leaves, bracts, and inflorescences, respectively. Brown flatsedge culms and inflorescences appeared 5 WAE, and by 9 WAE all plants were producing seed. Brown flatsedge could pose a threat to natural plant communities and rice agriculture in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas. Additional research is needed to determine seed longevity and ecological range potential, and to develop inexpensive and effective control methods.

The ecology of tropical bracken, which occurs in tropical regions, is not well known. We studied its response to weather variations and burning in the south Ecuadorian Andes, where this weed had already overgrown 40% of the pastureland. In field observations, a constant 1 : 1 ratio of emerging and dying leaves suggested limitation of frond density by nutrient shortage. Short-term deviations from that ratio could be related to weather variations. Spells of dry weather temporarily increased mortality but stimulated emergence of new fronds. Lifespan of the fronds produced immediately after a fire was longer than of those produced during unaffected bracken growth. A burst of frond development during the initial 2 to 3 mo was observed after a fire followed by self-thinning to a stable level. To analyze the effect of fire on bracken, rhizomes were treated with heat pulses. Rhizomes were heat tolerant up to 70 C, and frond production from short shoots was enhanced by elevated temperature. Burning apparently releases apical dominance of developed fronds, as does cutting, and stimulates bud break. The local practice of pasture maintenance in Ecuador of repeated burning favors growth of the fern.