Description: SECTION I. Human Perceptions.- 1. Defining Indigenous Species: An Introduction.- Defining Native Species.- Mechanisms for Change in Species Distributions.- Humans as a Component of the Natural.- Consequences of Choosing a Definition.- Conclusions.- 2. Defining Weeds of Natural Areas.- Definitions of Weed.- Definition and Examples of Natural-Area Weeds.- Adaptive Management of Natural-Area Weeds.- Conclusions.- 3. Potential Valuable Ecological Functions of Nonindigenous Plants.- Assessing Potential Ecological Values of Nonindigenous Plants.- Case Histories and Examples: Anecdotal, Hypothetical, and Otherwise.- Future Ecological Values of Nonindigenous Plants in a Changing Global Environment.- Conclusions.- SECTION II. Assessment of Ecological Interactions.- 4. Documenting Natural and Human-Caused Plant Invasions Using Paleoecological Methods.- Nature of the Paleoecological Record.- Paleoecological Assessments of Human-Related Plant Invasions.- Long-Term Records of Plant Invasions and Environmental Change.- Interactions Between Environmental Change and Human Disturbance.- Conclusions.- 5. Community Response to Plant Invasion.- Potential Mechanisms of Community Effects.- Possible Instances of Effects on Community Composition and Structure.- Invasion by Indigenous Species and the Paleoecological Record.- Generalizations.- Conclusions.- 6. Impacts of Invasive Plants on Community and Ecosystem Properties.- Primary Productivity.- Soil Nutrients.- Soil Water and Salinity.- Disturbance Regimes.- Community Dynamics.- Case Studies.- Conclusions.- 7. Animal-Mediated Dispersal and Disturbance: Driving Forces Behind Alien Plant Naturalization.- Naturalization.- Conclusions.- 8. Outlook for Plant Invasions: Interactions with Other Agents of Global Change.- Primary Agents of Global Change.- Interactions Among Factors.- Conclusion.- 9. Experimental Design for Plant Removal and Restoration.- Scientific Methods.- Principles of Design.- Experimental Design.- Applications: Managing Study Plots and Data.- Conclusions.- 10. Response of a Forest Understory Community to Experimental Removal of an Invasive Nonindigenous Plant (Alliaria petiolata, Brassicaceae).- Biology of the Study Species.- Methods.- Results.- Discussion.- Conclusions.- Appendix 10.1. Species list.- SECTION III. Direct Management.- 11. Management of Plant Invasions: Implicating Ecological Succession.- Succession: The Rise and Fall of Populations.- Plant Invasion: A Successional Interpretation.- The Decision to Manage.- The Response to Management.- A Paradigm for Management.- Conclusions.- 12. Methods for Management of Nonindigenous Aquatic P] ants.- Why Manage Nonindigenous Aquatic Plants'.- Management Techniques.- Developing an Integrated Management Plan.- Conclusions.- 13. Biological Control of Weeds in the United States and Canada.- Comparison of Control Methods.- Community-Level Effects of Invasion and Response to Biological Control.- Research Protocol.- Regulations and Safeguards.- Control of Major Weeds in the United States and Canada.- Future Directions of Biological Control.- Conclusions.- 14. Prioritizing Invasive Plants and Planning for Management.- Why Prioritize Invasive Plants'.- How to Prioritize.- Steps in the Decision-Making Process.- Decision-Making Tools.- A Generalized Nonindigenous Plant Ranking System.- Conclusions.- Appendix 14.1. A system for ranking nonindigenous plants.- SECTION IV. Regulation and Advocacy.- 15. Prevention of Invasive Plant Introductions on National and Local Levels.- Modes of Species Entry.- Current Laws.- Developing Predictive Methods.- Monitoring for New Invasions.- Preventing Invasions on the Local Scale.- Conclusions.- 16. Exotic Pest Plant Councils: Cooperating to Assess and Control Invasive Nonindigenous Plant Species.- Measuring the Impact of Invasions.- Overall Significance of Invasions.- The Need for Coordination.- Role of Exotic Pest Plant Councils.- Conclusions.- 17. Team Arundo: Interagency Cooperation to Control Giant Cane (Arundo donax).- Historical Setting.- Plant Biology.- The Problem.- The Solution? Team Arundo.- The Future.- Conclusions.- 18. A Multiagency Containment Program for Miconia (Miconia calvescens), an Invasive Tree in Hawaiian Rain Forests.- Distribution and Ecology of Miconia.- Agencies and Citizen Groups Involved in Miconia Control in Hawaii.- Strategies and Tactics.- Prospects for Success.- Appendix: Selected Plant Species Interfering with Resource Management Goals in North American Natural Areas.- References.

Please Wait