Integrating Management Techniques to Restore Sites Invaded by Mile‐a‐Minute Weed, Persicaria perfoliata

Abstract

Efforts to suppress an invasive weed are often undertaken with the goal of facilitating the recovery of a diverse native plant community. In some cases, however, reduction in the abundance of the target weed results in an increase in other exotic weeds. Mile‐a‐minute weed (Persicaria perfoliata (L.) H. Gross (Polygonaceae)) is an annual vine from Asia that has invaded the eastern United States, where it can form dense monocultures. The host‐specific Asian weevil Rhinoncomimus latipes Korotyaev (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) was first released in the United States in 2004 as part of a classical biological control program. At three sites invaded by mile‐a‐minute weed, biological control was integrated with pre‐emergent herbicide use and two densities of native plantings. After 2 years, native plant cover differed significantly and was greater than 80% in the plots with plantings and pre‐emergent herbicide but less than 30% in the planting treatments without herbicide. Where mile‐a‐minute cover decreased at the two sites with the greatest pressure from exotic plants, plots were dominated by another exotic weed, Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) A. Camus, Japanese stiltgrass. The combination of biocontrol, pre‐emergent herbicide, and revegetation with native plants suppressed mile‐a‐minute weed, prevented invasion by Japanese stiltgrass, and increased the abundance of native plants. The selection of the management strategies used to control mile‐a‐minute weed determined the extent of recovery of the native plant community.

Integration of Biological Control and Native Seeding to Restore Invaded Plant Communities

“…In the mid‐Atlantic region where P. perfoliata has colonized, other aggressive non‐native plants such as Japanese stiltgrass ( Microstegium vimineum [Trin.] A. Camus) are sometimes observed invading sites where P. perfoliata has been suppressed by biological control (Lake ; Hough‐Goldstein et al ). We hypothesized that sowing a mix of hardy annual and perennial native forbs and warm and cool season grasses would both facilitate strong resource competition with P. perfoliata and provide part of the resulting restored plant community.…”

Historical contingency and spatial processes rather than ecological niche differentiation explain the distribution of invasive goldenrods (Solidago and Euthamia)

“…This suggests that the species is more shade tolerant than the others and is perhaps less efficient in colonisation and occupation of open habitats. In contrast, in the native range, it is a typical species of open prairie landscape (Parker et al 1993;Lake et al 2014). In garden experiments, this species is highly competitive and can significantly decrease the biomass of S. altissima and S. gigantea through underground competition (Szymura and Szymura 2016).…”

Short-term Intensive Sustainable Restoration of Grasslands and Prairies Invaded with High Densities of Nitrogen-fixing Weeds: A Test with the Invasive Plant Lespedeza Cuneata

“…1. It is important to create a management strategy to restore native plant communities that reduce L. Cuneata dominance, but that does not result in other undesired species gaining importance, which is known as the invasive treadmill effect [24]. Herbicide only treatment and the H × F × M had the highest percent cover of undesired species with percentages of 61.7% and 56.2% respectively.…”