Weed Management and Invasive Species Control - Project Planning and Management for Ecological Restoration - page 187

Box 12-1. Lesson Learned: Using an Inexperienced Crew Can Send You Back to
Square One
An agency spent considerable time and money to develop a native plant revegetation
plan for upland areas near a creek. Additional expense was associated with the acquisi-
tion and installation of the appropriate native plants and irrigation system. As is often the
case, nonnative weeds grew up quickly throughout the areas between the plantings. The
maintenance crew responsible for maintaining the plantings did not know the difference
between native and nonnative plants. Because the weeds had grown quite high by the
time they got around to maintaining this site, the crew ended up cutting down a signifi-
cant number of the smaller native plantings. Subsequently, the agency had to purchase
and install additional plants the following year, adding to the expense of the project.
The agency learned that it is important to either hire experienced contractors fa-
miliar with restoration project site maintenance or train in-house personnel on how
to tell the difference between native and nonnative plants.
with native vegetation for available soil moisture. Root systems of some weeds can outcompete
native species even though the aboveground plant may not dominate the space.
One very important aspect of weed management is the training of maintenance crews to distin-
guish between the desirable and undesirable plants on a project site (box 12-1). Maintenance crews
should be given field instruction in recognizing the native plants that have been installed at the
project site, and they should also be able to recognize the major weed species that need to be con-
trolled. Some project managers have had to replace a large number of installed plants that were
cut down or inadvertently trampled by untrained workers. Some restoration practitioners create
exhibits of the “good” and “bad” plants by collecting live samples of each species, while others go
to the added effort of preparing booklets showing the weedy species. One easy way to do this is by
placing live specimens on top of a photocopier.
Developing a Weed Management Program
Most ecological restoration practitioners will need to develop their own weed management pro-
gram tailored to the needs of their restoration project site. Refer to box 12-2 for sources of informa-
tion for controlling weeds and invasive plants.
Weed control at ecological restoration project sites requires different strategies, techniques, and
schedules than those used in agricultural and landscaped areas. Weeding in the latter environ-
ments requires repeated mechanical, chemical, or small-tool destruction of all weeds. Typically,
weed control in agricultural and landscaped areas is performed several times per year, every year,
whereas the timing of weed control at restoration project sites depends on the weed species in-
volved, the extent of the infestation, and the degree to which the weeds may interfere with the
successful establishment of desired native plants.