Is it possible to predict which nonnative plant species will become invasive weeds and when? According to research featured in the journal Invasive Plant Science and Management, the answer is "hopefully yes." And those predictions can lead to more effective and cost-efficient weed management.
Researchers say invasive species generally follow a three-phase development curve -- from lag to expansion to plateau. The length and rapidity of the expansion phase varies across species and determines how aggressively a plant spreads.
"Understanding the source of this variation can help us predict which nonnative species become invasive," says Pedro M. Antunes, who co-authored of the paper with Dr. Brandon Schamp, both of Algoma University in Ontario, Canada. "The key is to take a best practices-based approach to gathering and comparing data about past invaders, their traits and preferred habitats."
Examples of the best practices the research team recommends:
"As our knowledge increases, we can make better-informed predictions about the likelihood of particular species becoming invasive and the timeline they will travel as they do so," Antunes says. "We then can take advantage of the lag time before the plant population expands to intervene with appropriate management controls."
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