Two factors that can degrade native plant community composition and structure, and hinder restoration efforts, are invasive species and chronic overbrowsing by ungulates such as white-tailed deer. Beginning in 2007, the effectiveness, costs, and impacts of Japanese barberry control treatments and herbivory on nonnative and native plant communities was examined at eight study areas over 4 to 5 yr. Prescribed burning and mechanical mowing by wood shredder or brush saw were utilized as initial treatments to reduce the aboveground portion of established barberry and were equally effective. Without a follow-up treatment, barberry had recovered to 56 to 81% of pretreatment levels 50 to 62 mo after initial treatment. Follow-up treatments in mid-summer to kill new sprouts included directed heating and foliar herbicide applications. Relative to untreated controls, follow-up treatments lowered barberry cover 50 to 62 mo after initial treatment by at least 72%. Although all follow-up treatments were equally effective, the labor cost of directed heating was four times higher than for herbicide applications. Follow-up treatment type (directed heating vs. herbicide) had minimal impact on species other than barberry. White-tailed deer herbivory had a larger impact on other species than did barberry control treatments. Native grass and fern cover was higher outside of exclosures. Areas inside exclosures had higher cover of Oriental bittersweet and multiflora rose, but not Japanese barberry. Thus, recovery of native communities will require more than simply removing the dominant invasive species where deer densities are high. Excellent reduction of Japanese barberry cover can be achieved using either directed heating or herbicides as follow-up treatments in a two-step process, but other invasive plants may become a problem when barberry is removed if deer populations are low.

The genus Diorhabda (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) was recently revised, using morphological characters, into five tamarisk-feeding species, four of which have been used in the tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) biological control program in North America and are the subject of these studies. The taxonomic revision is here supported using molecular genetic and hybridization studies. Four Diorhabda species separated into five clades using cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 sequence data with Diorhabda elongata separating into two clades. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis using genomic DNA revealed only four clades, which corresponded to the four morphospecies. Hybridization between the four species yielded viable eggs in F1 crosses but viability was significantly lower than achieved with intraspecific crosses. Crosses involving Diorhabda carinulata and the other three species resulted in low F2 egg viability, whereas crosses between D. elongata, Diorhabda sublineata and Diorhabda carinata resulted in > 40% F2 egg viability. Crosses between D. carinulata and the other three species resulted in high mortality of D. carinulata females due to genital mismatch. AFLP patterns combined with principal coordinates analysis enabled effective separation between D. elongata and D. sublineata, providing a method to measure genetic introgression in the field.

Biochar, a carbon-rich product formed by the incomplete combustion of biomass, has been shown to improve soil quality and increase crop growth but has not been evaluated in prairie ecosystems. We assessed the response of a native perennial grass, big bluestem, and an invasive herbaceous perennial, sericea, to biochar amendments in two greenhouse experiments in 2010 and 2011. In the first experiment, big bluestem and sericea were grown in monoculture; the main treatments were soil type (silt, sand), percent biochar (0%, 1%, 2%, and 4%) and nitrogen (0 and 10 g N m−2). Big bluestem growth was increased by the addition of biochar, particularly in the sand soil. In contrast, sericea growth was either not affected or decreased when biochar was added to the soil, particularly at the higher biochar rates. Adding N to the soil appeared to increase sericea growth in the presence of biochar and the silt soil, which suggests that biochar may have reduced N availability. A replacement series was used in the second experiment to evaluate the effect of biochar on competition between the two species. Main treatments were biochar rates (0% and 2%), nitrogen rates (0 and 10 g N m−2) and the following big bluestem to sericea ratios: 6 : 0, 4 : 2, 3 : 3, 2 : 4, and 0 : 6. After 180 d, big bluestem height and biomass were significantly greater in biochar-amended soils than in unamended soils. However, sericea height and biomass were unaffected by biochar amendments and the addition of biochar did not alter competitive outcomes. Competition between big bluestem and sericea was asymmetrical; sericea reduced the growth of big bluestem but big bluestem had relatively little effect on the growth of sericea. Our research suggests that biochar has the potential to increase the growth of big bluestem and may be a useful tool for prairie restoration.

Giant reed (Arundo donax) is an invasive weed that is native to the Old World. Tens of thousands of hectares of riparian habitat in the Rio Grande Basin (RGB) in Texas and Mexico have been heavily affected by invasions of Arundo. Additionally, many other watersheds across the southwestern United States have also been affected. Giant reed is being targeted for biological control because it displaces native vegetation and consumes water that could potentially be used for agricultural and municipal purposes, especially in areas with limited access to water. Finding the best-adapted insects for biological control involves locating the origin(s) of this plant. To narrow down the proximal source(s) of invasion of giant reed in the RGB, 10 microsatellite markers were developed. An analysis of 203 Old World and 159 North American plants, with an emphasis on the RGB, indicated a reduction in the allelic diversity in the introduced range compared with the Old World. Clonal assignment, neighbor joining, principal coordinates analyses, and STRUCTURE analyses were consistent and implied multiple introductions in North America, with one (likely clonal) lineage responsible for the invasion of the RGB, northern Mexico, and other parts of the southwestern United States. Although no identical matches with the RGB lineage were found in the Old World, several close matches were found on the Mediterranean coast of Spain.

Japanese knotweed and congeners are invasive to North America and Europe and spread aggressively along rivers establishing dense monotypic stands, thereby reducing native riparian plant diversity, structure, and function. Noxious weed control programs attempt to eradicate the knotweed with repeated herbicide applications under the assumption that the system will recover to a native assemblage which will inhibit future invasions. However, eradication efficacy studies typically only measure the amount of knotweed reduced, not the reestablished species diversity or plant origins. For a community scale efficacy study, we measured vascular plant species diversity and cover in riparian areas along five rivers in Washington State, 3 to 6 years after Bohemian knotweed was initially treated with herbicide. Plant species composition was compared between riparian sites treated to remove knotweed and reference sites where knotweed was absent. Sites where knotweed had been removed had significantly more exotic species and vegetative cover than reference sites; however, native species richness and cover were greater in reference sites and areas with more overstory vegetation. The native plants observed were primarily shade tolerant and perennial, as opposed to many of the exotics, which were shade-intolerant annuals. In general, reestablishment of native and exotic vegetation was not related to pretreatment knotweed stem count, size of the invaded area, or timing of herbicide application. However, residual native tree cover was negatively correlated with initial knotweed stem count. Monitoring the success of restoration objectives (e.g., native plant reestablishment or increased species diversity) and characterizing associated habitat features following knotweed eradication will help in the development of site-specific protocols for successful plant community scale restoration.

We review chemical ecology literature as it relates to biological control of weeds and discuss how this means of controlling invasive plants could be enhanced by the consideration of several well-established research approaches. The interface between chemical ecology and biological control of weeds presents a rich opportunity to exploit potentially coevolved relationships between agents and plants where chemical factors mediating interactions are important. Five topics seem relevant, which if implemented could improve the predictability of host range determination, agent establishment, and impact on the target weed. (1) The host secondary plant chemistry and a potential biological control agent's response to that chemistry can be exploited to improve predictability of potential agent host range. (2) Evolutionary changes may occur in secondary plant chemistry of invasive weeds that have been introduced to novel environments and exposed to a new set of biotic and abiotic stressors. Further, such a scenario facilitates rapid evolutionary changes in phenotypic traits, which in turn may help explain one mechanism of invasiveness and affect the outcome of biological control and other management options. (3) Herbivores can induce production of secondary plant compounds. (4) Variability of weed secondary chemistry which, either constitutive or inducible, can be an important factor that potentially influences the performance of some biological control agents and their impact on the target weed. (5) Finally, sequestration of secondary plant chemistry may protect herbivores against generalist predators, which might improve establishment of a biological control agent introduced to a new range and eventually impact on the target weed. Recognition of these patterns and processes can help identify the factors that impart success to a biological control program.

Extensive areas in the upper Midwest have been invaded by spotted knapweed, and effective management strategies are required to reestablish native plant communities. We examined effects of mowing, mowing plus clopyralid, or mowing plus glyphosate in factorial combination with hand pulling and burning on knapweed abundances on a knapweed-infested site in western Michigan. We applied mowing and herbicide treatments in summer 2008, and seeded all plots with native grasses and forbs in spring 2009. We conducted the knapweed pulling treatment from 2009 to 2012 in July. The prescribed burn was conducted in April 2012. By 2012, hand pulling reduced adult knapweed densities to 0.57 ± 0.12 m−2 (0.053 ± 0.011 ft−2) (mean ± SE), which was 5.8% of nonpulled treatments, juvenile densities to 0.29 ± 0.07 m−2 (2.1% of nonpulled treatments), and seedling densities to 0.07 ± 0.06 m−2 (2.6% of nonpulled treatments). After 3 yr, hand pulling reduced seed bank densities to 68 ± 26 m−2 as compared to 524 ± 254 m−2 in nonpulled treatments and 369 ± 66 m−2 in adjacent untreated areas of the study site. Without hand pulling, effects of mowing or mowing plus glyphosate were short-lived and allowed knapweed to rapidly resurge. In comparison, although a single mowing plus clopyralid treatment maintained significantly reduced densities of knapweed for 4 yr, by 2012 knapweed biomass in the nonpulled clopyralid treatment was approximately 60% of that in the other nonpulled treatments. Burning had minimal impacts on knapweed densities regardless of treatment combination, probably as a result of low fire intensity. Results demonstrated that persistent hand pulling used as a follow-up to single mowing or mowing plus herbicide treatments can be an effective practice for treating isolated spotted knapweed infestations or for removing small numbers of knapweed that survive herbicide applications.

Native forbs are important for plant community function and diversity, and provide food and cover for wildlife. Field studies have been conducted throughout the western United States to determine the impact of herbicides applied to control invasive weeds on native forbs. However, locating adequate populations of native forbs for evaluation of tolerance to herbicides is often difficult. The susceptibility of nine native prairie forbs to aminopyralid applied at 30 to 120 g ha−1 was evaluated in a greenhouse study and results compared to the same or similar species in field trials. Forb susceptibility to aminopyralid varied by species. Of the forbs evaluated, azure aster, purple coneflower, and closed bottle gentian were the most tolerant to aminopyralid while prairie coneflower, great blue lobelia, harebell, and white prairie clover were the most susceptible and likely would be killed in the field. Blanket flower and showy goldenrod were moderately tolerant to aminopyralid even when applied at 120 g ha−1. The susceptibility of greenhouse-grown forbs to aminopyralid was comparable to results for the same or similar species in the field. Results from greenhouse trials could be used to predict native forb tolerance in the field.

The interactive effects of herbivory, exotic species, and other human-mediated changes to the biosphere are reducing species diversity and altering ecosystem services globally. In this study, we tested whether facilitation could be used as a management technique to restore a degraded northeast Wisconsin forest understory facing high white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) browse pressure and high abundance of the exotic herb garlic mustard [Alliaria petiolata (Bieb.) Cavara & Grande]. Specifically, we attempted to facilitate native understory restoration by planting or seeding native herbs into three different matrix densities of the native, browse-tolerant grass Virginia wildrye (Elymus virginicus L.), which were either protected from (fenced), or accessible to, deer browsing. Deer had minimal impacts on E. virginicus but significantly reduced the cover, survival, and flower production of white snakeroot [Ageratina altissima (L.) King & H.E. Robins.] transplants, largely independent of the density of E. virginicus plantings in open-access plots. In contrast, the richness and abundance of native-seeded species were not affected by deer access but were reduced by increasing E. virginicus densities. Alliaria petiolata cover was significantly higher in plots accessible to deer but declined significantly with increasing E. virginicus planting density in both open-access and fenced plots. These results were largely corroborated by results from an associated observational study, with the exception that natural E. virginicus stands supported slightly higher native-species richness than did adjacent areas lacking E. virginicus. Thus, although we found little support that establishing E. virginicus facilitated browse-susceptible native understory herbs during our short-term experimental study, restored E. virginicus successfully established, thereby increasing native species cover and significantly reducing the cover of the exotic A. petiolata. We suggest the planting of browse-tolerant native species, such as E. virginicus, as a viable restoration technique in heavily browsed, A. petiolata–invaded woodlands.

Prioritizing management of invasive plants is important for large land management entities, such as federal and state public land stewards, because management resources are limited and multiple land uses and management objectives are differentially impacted. Management decisions also have important consequences for the likelihood of success and ultimate cost of control efforts. We applied multi-criteria decision analysis methods in a geographic information system using natural resource and land use data from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Landscape-scale prioritization was based on a hierarchical model designed to increase invasive plant management efficiencies and reduce the risk of impacts to key installation management goals, such as training-land management and protected species conservation. We also applied spatial sensitivity analyses to evaluate the robustness of the prioritization to perturbations of the model weights, which were used to describe the relative importance of different elements of the hierarchical model. Based on stakeholders' need for confidence in making management investments, we incorporated the results of the sensitivity analysis into the decision-making process. We identified high-priority sites that were minimally affected by the weight perturbations as being suitable for up-front management and evaluated how adopting this strategy affected management area, locations, and costs. We found that incorporating the results of the sensitivity analysis led to a reduced management area, different target locations, and lower costs for an equal area managed. Finally, we confirmed the distinctiveness of the approach by comparing this same subset of prioritized sites with locations representing species-centric strategies for three invasive plants and their aggregate distribution. By supplying pragmatic information about the localized effects of weighting uncertainty, spatial sensitivity analyses enhanced the invasive plant management decision-making process and increased stakeholder confidence.

Yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) is among the most invasive plant species in the western United States. The long-term management of yellow starthistle should include an integrated approach that incorporates establishment of competitive vegetation. In this study, conducted in two locations at Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County, California, we evaluated the combination of prescribed burning, the herbicide aminopyralid, and reseeding of native broadleaf and grass species on both yellow starthistle control and native plant restoration. Both study sites were burned in late October 2009. Over the following season, aminopyralid was applied at three timings and native plant species were seeded at three timings, using both a drill-seeder and broadcast spreader. Evaluations over the next 3 yr showed that aminopyralid provided complete to nearly complete control of yellow starthistle when applied between January and March, and this level of control was maintained for two seasons. Native plants failed to establish when broadcast seeded, regardless of the timing. December and January drill seeding timings were the most successful in establishing native species. There was a strong herbicide and drill seed timing interaction effect on native grass cover at both study sites. Over the course of the study the native perennial grass Stipa cernua was the most successful seeded species to establish, but establishment was slow and required 3 yr. Our results indicate that a January or March aminopyralid treatment integrated with a native perennial grass drill seeding program in January offers the greatest probability of both successful yellow starthistle control and perennial grass establishment.

Buffelgrass, a highly competitive and flammable African bunchgrass, is spreading rapidly across both urban and natural areas in the Sonoran Desert of southern and central Arizona. Damages include increased fire risk, losses in biodiversity, and diminished revenues and quality of life. Feasibility of sustained and successful mitigation will depend heavily on rates of spread, treatment capacity, and cost–benefit analysis. We created a decision support model for the wildland–urban interface north of Tucson, AZ, using a spatial state-and-transition simulation modeling framework, the Tool for Exploratory Landscape Scenario Analyses. We addressed the issues of undetected invasions, identifying potentially suitable habitat and calibrating spread rates, while answering questions about how to allocate resources among inventory, treatment, and maintenance. Inputs to the model include a state-and-transition simulation model to describe the succession and control of buffelgrass, a habitat suitability model, management planning zones, spread vectors, estimated dispersal kernels for buffelgrass, and maps of current distribution. Our spatial simulations showed that without treatment, buffelgrass infestations that started with as little as 80 ha (198 ac) could grow to more than 6,000 ha by the year 2060. In contrast, applying unlimited management resources could limit 2060 infestation levels to approximately 50 ha. The application of sufficient resources toward inventory is important because undetected patches of buffelgrass will tend to grow exponentially. In our simulations, areas affected by buffelgrass may increase substantially over the next 50 yr, but a large, upfront investment in buffelgrass control could reduce the infested area and overall management costs.

Prediction of invasive species distributions from survey data is widely recognized as a significant component of forest management and conservation planning. Leucaena leucocephala is the most aggressive invasive shrub and tree in the Hengchun peninsula in southern Taiwan. We analyzed geo-referenced data to identify potential variables of invasion and to predict likelihood of further invasion using boosted regression trees. Our results, which classified 92% of the cells correctly with regard to species presence and absence, indicated probability of invasion is correlated with climatic conditions (temperature and precipitation), landscape features (altitude; slope ratio and aspect; percentages of natural or secondary forest, agriculture land, developed area, and water bodies; and distances to the nearest forest edge and river), and anthropogenic factors (length of forest edge, and distances to the nearest road and agriculture land). The most influential variables are average annual temperature, altitude, precipitation, and slope. Continued range expansion by L. leucocephala is most likely to proceed (1) from the eastern and western portions toward the central portion of Hengchun township and (2) throughout the southern and toward the eastern portions of Manjhou township. Our model should provide useful information to aid forest managers in the development of long term monitoring and control strategies for L. leucocephala, in the early detection and eradication of newly established invasions, and also a framework for the integration and analysis of new presence and absence field data as they become available.

Medusahead is a close relative of bread wheat that is native to Eurasia but has become a noxious, invasive weed in North America. Intergeneric use of primers for bread wheat simple-sequence repeat (SSR) markers was tested in medusahead in order to expand the pool of available genetic resources for study of this plant. Forty-two primer pairs were screened in medusahead, of which 29 produced visible bands in agarose gels. Amplicons from eight of these markers were sequenced and analyzed for the presence of SSRs and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among medusahead individuals from six populations in the western Great Basin. Of the eight sequenced amplicons, two contained SSRs, both of which were polymorphic and shared by the original bread wheat marker. Six of the eight markers combined to detect 33 SNP loci. BLAST comparisons of the eight amplicons revealed variable numbers of matching sequences from wheat and other grass species ranging from 0 to > 200 matches. Using data from the polymorphic loci, population genetic analysis of the six invasive medusahead populations indicated that they arose from two separate introductions with two additional subclusters possible within the two principal clusters. Extrapolating from these results, it is reasonable to expect that between 170 and 830 of the approximately 1,200 publicly available bread wheat SSRs would produce useful marker loci in medusahead.

Vegetation that becomes overtopped usually experiences a decrease in abundance or species richness. When an overtopping plant alters the physiognomy of the existing vegetation (e.g., trees invading a shrubland), ecosystem processes can also be dramatically altered. Worldwide, Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) cultivars have been planted in Mediterranean-like climates and are known to invade surrounding natural communities. Ecological impacts resulting from these invasions have been widely investigated; however, the effects from solitary pine trees on the vegetation they overtop are lacking. Furthermore, studies on the impact of P. radiata cultivars from the California floristic province, where P. radiata is native, do not exist. In coastal California, north of the present-day range of native P. radiata stands, cultivars of this species have invaded northern coastal scrub vegetation. To determine the impact of pine invasion on species richness and structure in this habitat, floristic surveys were conducted in 20 blocks that consisted of invaded and uninvaded plots. An invaded plot contained two subplots located under the canopy of an isolated pine tree, whereas a paired, uninvaded plot contained two subplots located in coastal scrub adjacent to each pine. Pine trees selected ranged in size from 2.8 to 119 cm (1.1 to 46.9 in) basal diameter. Our results demonstrate that understory native cover and species richness are negatively correlated with tree size. Understory exotic plant cover and richness of species other than P. radiata did not show any correlation with tree size, mainly because exotic plants had a very low abundance overall.

Determining the best strategy for allocating weed management resources across and between landscapes is challenging because of the uncertainties and large temporal and spatial scales involved. Ecological models of invasive plant spread and control provide a practical tool with which to evaluate alternative management strategies at landscape scales. We developed a spatially explicit model for the spread and control of spotted knapweed and leafy spurge across three Montana landscapes. The objective of the model was to determine the ecological and economic costs and benefits of alternative strategies across landscapes of varying size and stages of infestation. Our results indicate that (1) in the absence of management the area infested will continue to increase exponentially leading to a substantial cost in foregone grazing revenues; (2) even though the costs of management actions are substantial, there is a net economic benefit associated with a broad range of management strategies; (3) strategies a that prioritize targeting small new infestations consistently outperform strategies that target large established patches; and (4) inconsistent treatment and short-term delays can greatly reduce the economic and ecological benefits of management.

The intent of this study was to determine if composting is an effective means of managing water hyacinth while producing a quality horticultural compost product. Preliminary tests for the study included germination and seed mortality tests. Germination tests found that water hyacinth seeds germinated on filter paper media soaked in distilled water while placed in petri dishes held at a constant temperature of 27 C for 14 d. Seed mortality test results found that seeds of water hyacinth were rendered inviable at temperatures equal to or above 57 C. The study successfully developed a large-scale composting system that used water hyacinth as a primary feedstock. Eleven compost piles were derived from 10,000 kg of water hyacinth, 9,000 kg of food waste, 11,300 kg of poultry litter, and 17,200 kg of wood chips. Results indicated that the composting process reached and sustained sufficiently high enough temperatures to inactivate and fully decompose seeds and other propagules of water hyacinth. Therefore, water hyacinth can be composted without the potential danger of it spreading. Compost quality tests found that the compost produced was within acceptable to ideal ranges of accepted industry quality standards, though there was a learning curve by student workers in the preparation of the piles using the large equipment.

Dalmatian toadflax is listed as a noxious weed in most of the western United States, but control of this species has not been extensively studied in California. Studies in other states show effective control of Dalmatian toadflax with picloram, but this herbicide is not registered for use in California. In addition, reports vary as to the optimal timing for herbicide applications. In this study we evaluated several herbicides with combined foliar and soil-residual activity at two times of application: postsenescence (fall) and rosette (winter to early spring). We applied two series of treatments (2008 and 2009 to 2010) on adjacent sites in high desert scrub of southern California. In the year of treatment and the following year, we evaluated Dalmatian toadflax cover and presence/absence of associated dominant species (≥ 5% cover). Although time of application, treatment, and timing by treatment interaction all produced significant differences in Dalmatian toadflax cover in the 2008 trial, only the high rate of aminocyclopyrachlor (280 g ae ha−1) applied to dormant plants in fall consistently reduced cover through the second year. No treatments at the rosette stage consistently produced 2 yr of control. In 2009 to 2010, treatments were more effective, probably owing to higher precipitation in spring. In both dormant and rosette applications made in 2009 to 2010, aminocyclopyrachlor (140 and 280 g ae ha−1) and aminocyclopyrachlor + chlorsulfuron (140 g ae ha−1 + 53 g ai ha−1) gave second year control; chlorsulfuron at the dormant stage (105 and 158 g ai ha−1) and aminopyralid at the rosette stage (245 g ae ha−1) also gave 2 yr of control. The treatments had only minor effects on grass species. The response of broadleaf species varied among treatments, with aminocyclopyrachlor at the high rate increasing Eriogonum spp., but greatly reducing Asteraceae species. These results provide options for the management of Dalmatian toadflax in California and other western states.

Downy brome (Bromus tectorum) is an invasive, annual grass that has spread through much of the Great Basin desert but remains patchy at high elevation. This study evaluates control options for outlier infestations in the eastern Sierra Nevada, CA, based on their ecological effectiveness and their economic and practical feasibility. I tested the efficacy of hand-pulling, sheet-mulching, and soil solarization followed by broadcast and seedball seeding of native forbs and grasses. Downy brome cover, density, and dominance in the seed bank decreased with all removal treatments. Soil solarization and sheet mulching were most successful at eliminating downy brome (decreasing density by 99% after just 1 yr of treatment in both cases), but they had negative nontarget impacts on other herbaceous species. Germination of native seeds was low with both broadcast and seedball seeding, probably because of dry conditions. Each of the methods tested has potential for decreasing or eliminating small-scale, outlier infestations of downy brome along roadsides and in disturbed sites and thereby helping to contain the invasion.