Keyword: invasive plants

‘Chem herding’ to improve biological control of saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) in the Northern Rockies

Saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) refers to the complex of exotic invasive shrubs and trees (four species and their hybrids) now considered the third most prevalent woody riparian taxonomic group in the western United States. Defoliation by large multivoltine populations of the Northern tamarisk beetle Diorhabda carinulata has successfully reduced extensive saltcedar infestations in the southwestern United States. Behavioral manipulation of insects with semiochemicals such as aggregation pheromones can be used to intensify herbivory, even in the Northern Rockies where beetle population densities are inherently low, to the extent that the target weed species is negatively affected at a population level.

Celebrating 30 years of the Fire Effects Information System (FEIS)

Thirty years ago, Rocky Mountain Research Station scientist William (Bill) Fischer proposed a highly innovative computer system to provide managers with information about the effects of prescribed fire. Technology has changed radically since Fischer originally envisioned a computer program to provide fire effects information electronically. The FEIS user interface now enables readers to search using many criteria, including maps, and it connects information from all three FEIS products - Species Reviews, Fire Studies, and Fire Regimes.

Unwanted side effects of roads are invasive species

Resource managers are using burning and thinning treatments more and more in western forests to manage the infestation of insects and disease as well as to reduce wildfire hazards. Unfortunately, these treatments can trigger the invasion and spread of invasive plants, which can thwart restoration efforts. A recently published, long-term Forest Service study conducted at the Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest (TCEF) in Montana helps shed some light on the spread of invasive plants.