Invasive Species Identification and Control

This U.S.D.A. website has databases on plant pest regulated by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), federal noxious weeds, regulated by APHIS and the North American Non-Indigenous Arthropod Database (NANIAD).

Resource managers, biologists, and all those involved in plant communities must consider ecological interactions when assessing both the effects of plant invasion and the long-term effects of management. Sections of the book cover human perceptions of invading plants, assessment of ecological interactions, direct management, and regulation and advocacy. It also includes an appendix with descriptive data for many of the worst weeds.

The purpose of this book is to provide a reference guide for field workers and land managers concerning the historical and current status of the biological control of invasive plant species in the eastern United States. Weeds associated with lakes, ponds and rivers (Section I); wetlands (Section II); prairies and grasslands (Section III); old fields and pastures (Section IV); and forests (Section V) are discussed, by authors who are leaders in research on biological control of the plant species they discuss. Each chapter compiles published articles, unpublished reports and personal experiences of the authors, and provides the most up-to-date and accurate information concerning biological control of each invasive plant species.

Host website for the WeedUS database and EDDMapS as well as Forestry Images, Integrated Pest Management Images, Forest Pests and more. Hosted by The University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. This site also archives the Nature Conservancy’s disbanded Global Invasive Species Team’s resources: a Weed Control Methods Handbook, Element Stewardship Abstracts (ESA’s), and Weed Management Plan templates. (The GIST resources are no longer being updated but are nevertheless of value.)

This booklet offers a survey of the efforts of a variety of groups that have mobilized volunteers in an effort to control invasive plants in natural areas. It is hoped that the case studies presented can provide motivation and methods for recruiting and deploying volunteers charged with the task of invasive plant control.

Global experts in ecology and evolutionary biology explore how theories in ecology elucidate the invasion processes while also examining how specific invasions informs ecological theory.

Fact sheet on controlling invasive plants.

Software tool where users can input occurrences of invasive plants; expert-verified and mapped in Google Maps. It is intended to identify new invasions and help managers and government officials prioritize invasives management.

Provides information on the history of the FAQAI, and the development and use of CCs

Analysis and rating of plant communities in Ohio using the floristic quality assessment index method.

Applications of this system include the identification of remnant habitats of native floristic significance, comparisons between different sites, long-term monitoring of floristic quality, monitoring the progress of habitat restoration, and the use of National Wetland Categories to assist in identification of wetlands. The MDNR is using the same quality assessment system that Floyd Swink and Gerould Wilhelm used for the Chicago Region.

The Invasive Plant Atlas of New England’s (IPANE) mission is to create a comprehensive web-accessible database of invasive and potentially invasive plants in New England that will be continually updated by a network of professionals and trained volunteers. The database will facilitate education and research that will lead to a greater understanding of invasive plant ecology and support informed conservation management. An important focus of the project is the early detection of, and rapid response to, new invasions.

An easy-to-use, wide-ranging guide to invasive plants in North America, "Invasive Plants" features full-color photos and descriptions of 175 terrestrial and aquatic alien species, that are in some cases changing the landscape to an almost unimaginable degree. Accompanying text describes each plant's environmental role, its history, and its economic impacts as well as management techniques used to control it. Also includes an explanation of what an invasive is and a step-by-step identification key. An essential guide to understanding this unprecedented environmental challenge.

This guide includes more than 250 color photos that will help identify problem trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, sedges, and herbaceous plants (including aquatic invaders). The text offers further details of plant identification; manual, mechanical, biological, and chemical control techniques; information and advice about herbicides; and suggestions for related ecological restoration and community education efforts.

Written for a general audience as well as horticultural professionals, this guide to weeds presents 80 of the most invasive plants and offers solutions for how to deal with them.

Formerly the Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council, this organization coordinates regional efforts by sharing information, hosting a biennial conference, and offers a tutorial for land managers on invasive plants.

Floristic Quality Assessment (FQA) is a robust, botanically based method for assessing the quality of ecological communities and natural areas. Integral to the method is that each native plant species in a state or region is assigned a Coefficient of Conservatism, or C value, based on its response to stressors. In the Northeast Region (including six New England states and New York), C values were completed at the state level in 2011, whereby every species in each state was assigned a C value based on statewide “average behavior.” But jurisdictional units are not optimal for addressing changes in species behavior. For this reason, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) have supported the development of ecoregional C values, including in the Northeast.

Fact sheet published by the Rose Valley EAC explaining the problems presented by running bamboo and a new ordinance designed to control it.

Fact sheet published by the Rose Valley EAC identifying garlic mustard and providing instructions on how to combat it.