Invasive Plants

Climate change-induced warming can alter plant phenology and disrupt ecosystems like the sagebrush steppe in western North America. The invasive annual grass cheatgrass can thrive under these altered conditions, exacerbating wildfires and threatening wildlife habitat, carbon storage, and other important ecosystem services. We are studying how different densities of cheatgrass respond to increased...

Early detection of invasive species can enable their successful eradication. With climate change and dynamic patterns of global trade, it is difficult to predict which new invasive species will next get introduced and where introduction and establishment will occur. We are analyzing where non-native species have first established in Hawai‘i to develop mapped predictions of the relative risk of new...

Climate change and invasive species are transforming ecosystems. The Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD) framework organizes management objectives into those that seek to Resist change and maintain historical ecological communities, those that Accept some or all aspects of ecological transformation, and those that Direct an ecological community to a preferred state. We are evaluating risks posed by climate...

Cheatgrass, an invasive annual grass, reduces ecosystem productivity, negatively impacts biodiversity, and is increasingly problematic in higher elevation ecosystems with climate change. Cheatgrass phenology (that is, the timing of yearly growth and lifespan) varies greatly with elevation, climate, and weather from year to year, which can make management planning difficult and reduce the ability...

Invasive plants negatively impact our water, wildlife, and way of life. Current management tools are not cutting it, so a multi-agency research team is using molecular biotechnology to develop new species-specific treatments that help land managers improve the natural resources that we depend on and have more management options during droughts, floods, and other periods of plant stress. This...

Invasive annual grasses can replace native vegetation and alter fire behavior, impacting a range of habitats and species. A team of researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado State University, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are working to identify factors that influence changes in the distribution and abundance of invasive annual grasses (IAGs)...

This project analyzes on-the-ground plant monitoring data across sagebrush and rangeland ecosystems to examine how fire, climate, topography, and plant communities influence the success of invasive annual grasses after fires.

Many managers are hampered by the scope of the invasive species problem compared to their available resources. Habitat suitability models of invaders can help fill this resource gap, helping with activities such as watch list compilation and targeted surveillance and eradication efforts.

We are working on understanding the chemical ecology of Rapid ʽŌhiʽa Death - ROD -, which is critical for protecting both healthy and ROD-infected ʽōhi‘a. A better understanding could lead to early ROD detection tools and the development of attractants and repellents to manipulate ambrosia beetle populations.

Melaleuca, also known as a paperbark tree, is an invasive tree.

Brazilian waterweed is an invasive aquatic plant.

Brome is an invasive plant.