Science Priorities for Reducing the Threat of Invasive Species to Sustainable Forestry

Abstract

ArticlesW orldwide interest in sustainability-an approach to managing natural resources that meets present human needs while maintaining the earth's capacity to meet the needs of future generations-has burgeoned over the past two decades (NRC 1999). Forest management has been a focal part of this transition, because forests occur on about a third of the earth's land surface, support the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, and provide habitat for much of the world's biological diversity (FAO 2001). More than 150 nations, the world's largest forest and paper companies, environmental and conservation organizations, scientists, and other stakeholders are now developing approaches for implementing sustainable forestry. Underlying these efforts is the premise that sustainable forest management must be economically feasible, socially acceptable, and environmentally sustainable.Escalating rates of biological invasions pose a major, but as yet poorly addressed, threat to sustainable forestry in the United States and worldwide. Here we identify priorities for science and technology that could help reduce this threat. As in recent policy applications, by "invasive species" we mean "a species that is not native to an ecosystem and whose Elizabeth A. Chornesky (e-mail: echornesky@sbcglobal.net

Management of invasive Phragmites australis in the Adirondacks: a cautionary tale about prospects of eradication

“…Conservation and land management organizations spend an ever-increasing amount of their limited resources to manage threats to native biodiversity caused by spread of non-indigenous species (henceforth NIS) (D'Antonio et al 2004;Pullin et al 2004;Chornesky et al 2005;Abella et al 2015). For example, the 2002 U.S. federal budget for NIS control and related activities was reported at $777 million, and expenditures have increased to [$2.2 billion by 2016 (https://www.doi.gov/invasivespecies/nisc-resources, accessed 16 January 2017).…”

De jure versus de facto institutions: trust, information, and collective efforts to manage the invasive mile-a-minute weed (Mikania micrantha)

“…This study contributes knowledge relevant to our Chitwan case study participants, as well contributing more broadly to an understanding of the complexities involved in managing invasive plants and other disruptive events that threaten social-ecological systems, an increasingly relevant global concern (Chornesky et al 2005). It is our hope that in the context of Chitwan, this detailed understanding of governance relationships and norms related to management as they exist on the ground will support successful efforts to manage Mikania and other invasive plants.…”

“…It is likely that understanding the reasons for specific management decisions and the relationships between actors will improve efforts to manage Mikania, as understanding these relationships is the first step towards strengthening them. We present three propositions for addressing common pool resource management, with particular relevance to resources altered by invasive species, an increasingly relevant issue globally (Chornesky et al 2005). The first two focus on the importance of information access and how institutions impact this, while the third focuses on connections to the natural resource.…”

Factors influencing the local scale colonisation and change in density of a widespread invasive plant species, Lantana camara, in South India

“…Additionally, L. camara removal has to be conducted repeatedly because of L. camara re-growth (Day et al 2003, Babu et al 2009, Ramaswami et al 2014. Prioritizing L. camara removal activities in heavily invaded areas could help reduce propagule pressure in the long run (Chornesky et al 2005), provided L. camara colonisation and density are contained in areas that are currently less invaded.…”