Assessing Invasiveness in Plants

Horticulturalist Mark Widrlechner and colleagues have developed an assessment tool to determine the potential invasiveness of plants in different regions. The team looked at the traits of 100 non-native woody plants that have been introduced to the landscape. Predictions of their likelihood of escape were compared to actual escape histories of the selected plants. Geographic risk factors based on the plants' native distributions were added to the assessment to determine the risk of invasiveness in all regions of North America.

Few introduced plants actually escape cultivation to become invasives. Predictive models can help reduce the costs and quarantine times associated with new plant introductions.

Link: A Regional Scheme for Foiling Non-Native Plant “Escapes” from the Agricultural Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 12:36 PM on March 16, 2005

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