Invasive Weed Management
Monitoring and the Adaptive Management Cycle
Contents
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- Learning Objectives
- Narrative
- Exercises
- References
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Learning Objectives
[6] describe the adaptive management cycle;Narrative
In Salafsky et al.,
Adaptive management
is defined as
"
the integration of design, management, and monitoring to systematically
test assumptions in order to adapt and learn.
".
They state six reasons for using adaptive management:
- "Vegetation management takes place in complex systems.
- The world is a constantly and unpredictably changing place.
- Out "competitors" are changing and adapting.
- Immediate action is required.
- There is no such thing as complete information.
- We can learn and improve."
The adaptive management cycle is illustrated here:
Source: Adapted from Margoluis & Salafsky 1998.
Source: Adapted from Margoluis & Salafsky 1998.
Adaptive management is more than "common-sense" nor is it simply "trial-and-error".
Management actions are treated as scientific experiments and so require a considerable
amount of care in their design. One of the most important features of a
scientific experiment is the
control
case. With the exception of the eradication of small invasive weed populations,
areas should be set aside for "no-action" (continuation of current practices)
so that the action can be evaluated. This is especially necessary when vegetation
changes in response to weather. A decrease in a particular species may be due
to the management action or it may be caused by an exceptionally dry winter.
In order to assess the effectiveness of the management action, it is necessary
to have a comparison plot where the action was not performed.
Adaptive management is a critical component of integrated weed management on
wildlands because of the unpredictability of the ecosystem's response to
minor changes.
Exercises
- Discuss management programs that you are familiar with- is adaptive management used? If the answer is yes, evaluate the success of adaptive management in that situation. If the answer is no, are there ways that adaptive management could be easily incorporated?
References
- Basic
- The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) weed management plan template and models
- http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/products.html
- Advanced
- Adaptive Management: A Tool for Conservation Practitioners.
- Salafsky, N., R. Margoluis, and K. Redford. Washington, D.C.: Biodiversity Support Program. Obtained from http://fosonline.org/resources/Publications/AdapManHTML/adman_1.html on 2007/05/24.
The content of the page was last modified
2007-09-13