Invasive Weed Management

Overview: Integrated Weed Management

Contents

Learning Objectives

[1] define integrated weed management, illustrating with examples from the student's experience;

Narrative

Throughout this module, we adopt the principles of Integrated Weed Management, as a generalization of the Integrated Pest Management approach. The term "Integrated Pest Management", now commonly abbreviated as IPM, was first coined in 1967, but some of the techniques employed in IPM are ancient, see [IPM Resource Center: History]. Modifying the definition of IPM from the IPM Institute of North America, we have:
Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) is a strategy that focuses on long-term stewardship of native and non-invasive vegetation including prevention or supression of pest problems with minimum impact on human health, the environment, and nontarget organisms.
Integrated Management approaches are often likened to a "wellness" approach to health, as opposed to "disease-treatment". There has been considerable interest in Integrated Management in Mendocino County because when properly implemented, it is a proven, practical approach for reducing overall pesticide use and selecting lower-risk pesticides when necessary.
As in a wellness program for health, the highest-priority component of an Integrated Management program is prevention. Actions with high risk of injury to desirable vegetation are avoided. Mechanisms of pest introduction are identified and the risk of introduction is reduced as much as reasonable. In IWM, preventative techniques include, for example: Therefore we emphasize identifying and conserving vegetation that contributes to the wellness of the site, including native and non-invasive plants and their soil seedbanks, and preventing the introduction of weeds and pathogens harmful to the wellness of the site.
An Integrated Management approach is based on knowledge. Therefore, information gathering and analysis will be a major component of our long-term plan. Increasing our understanding of the natural processes occuring on our site and how our actions affect those processes will increase the likelihood of success in restoring and maintaining the wellness of our site.
Established populations of invasive weeds have advantages over native and non-native vegetation including: Integrated weed management uses treatment approaches for weed suppression that are integrated with the land management operations as much as possible. For example, mowing is frequently performed for wildfire-hazard reduction; careful selection of where and when to mow can make this operation a weed suppression technique as well. The treatments that are cost-effective while minimizing risks to human health, the environment and non-target organisms are often found to be combinations of two or more techniques. Herbicide treatments on wildlands are viewed as temporary measures to return the ecosystem to a state of wellness where desirable vegetation dominates.
Integrated Management is not a quick-fix. Like a wellness program for maintaining personal health through proper diet, exercise and life-style changes, it requires a long-term commitment, and progress may not be noticeable at first. A Long-Term Plan is critical to maintaining a coherent strategy over time and tracking progress towards your goals.

Exercises

  1. Identify and discuss examples of Integrated Management from your own experience. Do you know of instances where Integrated Management might apply but is currently not in use?

References

 
The content of the page was last modified 2007-09-13