Linking Ecological Principles to Tools and Strategies in an EBIPM Program

Abstract

I n ecosystems that are heavily invaded, it is common for the level of degradation to become so intense that the native plant seedbank is reduced. In these cases, active restoration that includes revegetation efforts and stress manipulations through herbicide use, tillage, periodic ooding, prescribed burning, or timely strategic grazing are often neces- sary to recover certain ecosystem functions. In wildlands and rangelands, herbicides and grazing are generally the most wide- ly used techniques for the control of invasive and weedy plants. Unlike cropland environments where all plants, except the crop, are considered to be weeds, in wildlands and rangelands there is often only one or a few invasive plants that are the target of control measures. These plants are generally grow- ing in association with several desirable species. Selectivity is then critical when developing an effective weed management program. Both strategic grazing and herbicides can be ap- plied selectively to alter the trajectory of a plant community to a more desired and functional state. DOI: 10.2458/azu_rangelands_v34i6_ditomaso