Community Based Control Of Invasive Species

Invasive species are among the greatest challenges to environmental sustainability and agricultural productivity in the world. One of the most promising approaches to managing invasive species is voluntary citizen stewardship. However, in order for control measures to be effective, private citizens often need to make sustained and sometimes burdensome commitments. Community-Based Control of Invasive Species is based on five years of research by leading scholars in natural resource and human behavioural sciences, which involved government and citizen groups in Australia and the United States. It examines questions including, 'how can citizens be engaged in voluntarily managing invasive species?', 'what communication strategies will ensure good motivation and coordination?' and 'how can governing bodies support citizens in their efforts?'. With chapters on institutional frameworks, changing governance, systems thinking, organisational learning, engagement, communication and behavioural change, this book will be a valuable reference for researchers and practitioners involved in natural resources management.

This open access book describes the serious threat of invasive species to native ecosystems. Invasive species have caused and will continue to cause enormous ecological and economic damage with ever increasing world trade. This multi-disciplinary book, written by over 100 national experts, presents the latest research on a wide range of natural science and social science fields that explore the ecology, impacts, and practical tools for management of invasive species. It covers species of all taxonomic groups from insects and pathogens, to plants, vertebrates, and aquatic organisms that impact a diversity of habitats in forests, rangelands and grasslands of the United States. It is well-illustrated, provides summaries of the most important invasive species and issues impacting all regions of the country, and includes a comprehensive primary reference list for each topic. This scientific synthesis provides the cultural, economic, scientific and social context for addressing environmental challenges posed by invasive species and will be a valuable resource for scholars, policy makers, natural resource managers and practitioners.

Based on a selection of papers presented at the Norway/UN Conference on Alien Species, Trondheim, Norway

Invasive alien species are a major and growing threat to biodiversity worldwide. The transport of organisms through increased levels of trade and tourism is leading to the widespread breaching of natural biogeographic barriers at unprecedented rates. Consequences can be severe, especially in naturally isolated ecosystems. Invasive alien species can cause the extinction of vulnerable endemic species, alter the structure and composition of communities, disrupt successional pathways, and lead to the loss of ecosystem services. Global climate change may further exacerbate the spread of alien species, as climatic zones shift and potential ranges alter. The effective management of invasive alien species is clearly a priority for biological conservation worldwide. This book first provides strategies for managing such species at successive invasion stages, from prevention at the border to control of major infestations. It then describes the general tools and approaches that are recommended for successful management of particular groups of invasive organisms in a range of environments. In each case, the ecological basis and practical requirements of invasive alien species management are addressed. This integration of proven techniques and policies will be useful to a wide readership of students, academics, conservation practitioners, invasive species managers, legislators, and to the broader community concerned with biological conservation.

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 363: Control of Invasive Species explores the extent to which state departments of transportation are identifying actions that affect the spread of invasive species, preventing introduction, tracking status and locations of "invasives" in a timely and ongoing manner, controlling found populations, restoring invaded habitats, conducting research, and sharing lessons learned. The report documents successful practices and lessons learned. It also synthesizes the state of the practice in developing Integrated (Roadside) Vegetation Management, along with physical, chemical, biological, and cultural control mechanisms.

This book presents a collection of practitioner and community stories that reveal how invasive species management is a community issue that can spark community formation and collective action. It combines the unique first-person narratives of practitioners on the frontline of invasive species management in Australia with three case studies of community action for wild dog management across a range of geographical landscapes. The book offers readers a new understanding of how communities are formed in the context of managing different species, and how fundamental social and political processes can make or break landholders’ ability to manage invasive species. Using narrative analysis of practitioner profiles and community groups, drawing lessons from real-world practices, and employing theories from community development, rural sociology and collective action, this book serves multiple functions: it offers a teaching tool, a valuable research contribution, and a practitioner’s field guide to pursuing effective community development work in connection with natural resource management, wildlife management and environmental governance.

The global spread of plant species by humans is both a fascinating large scale experiment and, in many cases, a major perturbation to native plant communities. Many of the most destructive weeds today have been intentionally introduced to new environments where they have had unexpected and detrimental impacts. This 2003 book considers the problem of invasive introduced plants from historical, ecological and sociological perspectives. We consider such questions as 'What makes a community invasible?', 'What makes a plant an invader?' and 'Can we restore plant communities after invasion?' Written with advanced students and land managers in mind, this book contains practical explanations, case studies and an introduction to basic techniques for evaluating the impacts of invasive plants. An underlying theme is that experimental and quantitative evaluation of potential problems is necessary, and solutions must consider the evolutionary and ecological constraints acting on species interactions in newly invaded communities.