Ecology and Control of Introduced Plants

This book focuses on introduced plant species: where they come from, their impacts on native vegetation and ecosystems and the potential for their control. Invasive plants are a cause of increasing concern, and a lot of effort has been put into removing and controlling unwanted organisms. Aimed at advanced students and land managers, with an interest in plant invaders, plant communities, and biodiversity, it contains practical explanations, case studies and an introduction to basic techniques for evaluating the impacts of invasive plants. Key Features: -Covers the basics from plant population and community ecology to the societal constraints and implications of invasive plants -Suitable reading for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students taking courses in applied plant ecology -Should be read by every land manager and ecological consultant charged with the responsibility of developing procedures for dealing with invasive weeds Contents 1. Introduction; 2. Planet of weeds: exotics in the landscape; 3. Ecosystem, community composition, richness and dynamics; 4. Life history characteristics and predicting invasiveness; 5. Population ecology; 6. Introduced plant diseases; 7. Classical biological control of exotic weeds; 8. Models of invasive plant populations; 9. Cultural control of invasive species; 10. Conserving and restoring natural communities; 11. Some tools for studying plant populations; 12. Conclusions: what the future holds.