Herbicides that persist in the forest litter and soil following their use for managing invasive plant species may negatively affect restoration efforts as well as minimize reinvasion via their residual phytotoxic activity. This study determined the impact of an herbicide mixture comprising triclopyr, dicamba, picloram, and aminopyralid (TDPA) for the control of dense infestations of a woody invader, Pinus contorta Douglas ex Loudon, on the germination of reinvading P. contorta and three New Zealand native species (Chionochloa rubra Zotov, Nothofagus cliffortiodes (Hook. f.) Oerst., and Leptospermum scoparium J.R. Forst. & G. Forst.) used in restoration. Given the essential role of ectomycorrhizal fungi in facilitating conifer reinvasion, the impact of residual herbicides present in mineral soil on the ectomycorrhizal infection of P. contorta seedling roots was also examined. Germination trials were conducted using intact forest litter–soil cores collected at 27, 112 and 480 d (after herbicide spraying) from sprayed and adjacent unsprayed dense P. contorta infestations. At the same time, mineral soil was also collected for the ectomycorrhizal infection study. Post-spray herbicide residue bound in the litter significantly decreased survival, germination rate, root and shoot growth, and also caused malformation of P. contorta seedlings. Similar results were recorded for native species’ germination; however, overall viability of native seed was poor, resulting in low germination rates. There was no difference in levels of ectomycorrhizal infection rates of P. contorta between treatments. Results indicate residual levels of TDPA herbicide in forest floor litter negatively affect P. contorta reinvasion, native recruitment, and active restoration management. Ectomycorrhizal fungi, however, are unaffected by this herbicide mixture and therefore remain a risk to facilitating reinvasion as residual herbicide declines.

Invasion by nonnative woody species poses a major threat to the environment, biodiversity, and economies worldwide. Nahuel Huapi National Park in Argentina is a protected area for habitat conservation that harbors several invasive Pinaceae species, where Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco] is one of the most aggressive and abundant conifer tree invaders. Management of invasions in protected areas must include efficient, easy to deploy, and cost-effective techniques, while reducing the impact on native ecosystems. Because the region has no control measures applied other than conventional felling, we analyzed the effectiveness of two systemic herbicides (glyphosate and aminopyralid + triclopyr) at two different concentrations, applied with the drill and fill method. We then quantified defoliation of P. menziesii trees 6, 12, and 24 mo after application and performed an economic cost analysis to determine profitability. For the application, the trees were grouped into diameter at breast height classes and randomly assigned to one of the four treatments. Herbicide doses were adjusted according to tree size. We found that glyphosate at high concentrations completely defoliated 33% of the trees after 6 mo and 87% after 12 and 24 mo. Glyphosate at low concentrations defoliated almost 30% of the trees after 24 mo, most of which were smaller trees. The aminopyralid + triclopyr treatment did not produce significant defoliation at any of the tested concentrations. When compared with conventional felling, the drill and fill method was found to reduce removal costs by 98%. We observe that differences in costs are mainly due to dead trees that remain standing, decompose slowly, and do not generate costs associated with their removal and debris management. Drill and fill is a suitable method for treating scattered trees in a native forest community, with reduced environmental consequences compared with other removal techniques currently applied within conservation areas of the Patagonian forest.

We evaluated herbicides for controlling the annual grass ventenata [Ventenata dubia (Leers) Coss.], with particular interest in indaziflam, a preemergence cellulose biosynthesis inhibitor. In 2016, indaziflam was applied postemergence alone and in mixture with glyphosate, imazapic, propoxycarbazone-sodium, or rimsulfuron to an improved pasture in southwestern Montana. A non-sprayed control was included for comparison purposes. Canopy cover of each species was assessed annually for 7 yr; cover was grouped by life-form and longevity, and species richness was calculated. Five years (2021) after treatment, the seedbank was assessed. Our results indicated that treatments including indaziflam reduced V. dubia cover 1 to 3 yr and even up to 6 yr after application, with V. dubia cover being zero or close to zero. However, at 7 yr (2023) after treatment, V. dubia was low across all treatments, including the non-sprayed control. Perennial grasses and forbs and annual forbs were generally unaffected by any treatment and did not increase in cover over the 7 yr, even though V. dubia decreased. Two years after treatment, species richness was lowest in treatments that included indaziflam, but at 7 yr, species richness was similar across all treatments. Indaziflam depleted the monocot and dicot seedbank, with fewer than 5 seedlings of any species emerging from treatments that included indaziflam, while other treatments resulted in 60 to 165 seedlings per sample (40 cm3 of soil). In summary, at our study site, a single application of indaziflam controlled V. dubia for 6 yr, appeared to deplete the seedbank at 5 yr, and cover of perennial and annual vegetation and species richness was unaffected. By the end of the study, though, V. dubia cover appeared to be influenced by factors other than herbicide treatments, possibly variable precipitation over time, an exclusion of grazing, and competitive perennial grasses dominating the site.

Three species of the Old World genus Dipsacus L. are considered invasive in the Americas, yet they may differ in how they spread and reproduce and in their genetic diversity. Differences in invasion method may suggest that different management techniques are needed for each species. We performed genetic analyses on 572 plants in 69 populations from the United States, Argentina, and Eurasia with the goals of analyzing taxonomy, diversity, mode of reproduction, population structure, and founder effect of each of these species’ invasions, as well as looking for evidence of recent or ongoing hybridization. We found Indian teasel [Dipsacus sativus (L.) Honck.] to be lowest in diversity and possibly reliant on self-pollination more than the other species, Fuller’s teasel (Dipsacus fullonum L.) and cutleaf teasel (Dipsacus laciniatus L.). We found no evidence of hybridization within the invasions and no support for D. sativus as a subspecies of D. fullonum. The closest genetic matches of D. fullonum from the United States to the native range were with Hungary and Spain, while the closest match for D. fullonum between Argentina and the native range was with Spain. Dipsacus laciniatus from the United States most closely matched with samples from Russia. Population structure information regarding these three weedy Dipsacus species can help us understand their invasive processes as well as give insight into their management and the development of a biological control program.

Medusahead [Taeniatherum caput-medusae (L.) Nevski] is an invasive winter annual grass of western North American grasslands and rangelands that negatively impacts forage production, wildlife habitat, and ecosystem processes. Growth regulator herbicides, such as aminopyralid, applied in spring reduced invasive annual grass seed viability in greenhouse and California annual grassland experiments. Beginning in fall 2017, we tested combinations of sequential fall (preemergence) and spring (postemergence) aminopyralid applications at low (103 g ae ha−1) and high (206 g ae ha−1) rates at two ecologically distinct sites in the Intermountain West. Preemergence and postemergence aminopyralid applications at low and high rates controlled T. caput-medusae by 76% to 100% the second summer after study initiation. At the Utah site (which is warmer, drier, and more degraded than the Idaho site), the high rate resulted in better control. The first summer, postemergence aminopyralid applications at low and high rates reduced seed viability 47% to 91% compared with nontreated seeds, with the greatest reductions seen in Utah, which was experiencing drought. Across study sites, reduced T. caput-medusae germination in one year was linked to improved control the following year. The Idaho site also had desirable perennial grasses, which we used to investigate non-target effects. In general, there was a correlation between high T. caput-medusae control and higher perennial grass cover, indicating that successful control can make desirable perennial grasses more vigorous in this system. The option of a spring aminopyralid application increases the management window for controlling invasive annual grasses by decreasing seed viability, thereby depleting short-lived seedbanks.

Native aquatic macrophytes such as American eelgrass (Vallisneria americana Michx.) are often desirable in aquatic ecosystems due to the ecological benefits they provide but are threatened by competition from invasive taxa including non-native Vallisneria taxa and hydrilla [Hydrilla verticillata (L. f.) Royle]. Identifying potential selective herbicide management options can provide tools to minimize impacts to native taxa in restoration and aquatic invasive plant management programs. Greenhouse mesocosm experiments were conducted in 2023 to investigate herbicide efficacy on two native eelgrass species (V. americana and Vallisneria neotropicalis Vict.), two non-native taxa (Vallisneria australis S.W.L. Jacobs & Les and Vallisneria spiralis L. × Vallisneria denseserrulata Makino), and H. verticillata. Herbicide applications included endothall, diquat, florpyrauxifen-benzyl, fluridone, and flumioxazin and select combinations of these herbicides used in H. verticillata management. Endothall alone provided 90% to 100% aboveground biomass reduction at 3,000 µg L−1 with at least 24 h of continuous or intermittent exposure to all native and invasive species at 6 wk after exposure, whereas florpyrauxifen-benzyl applied alone resulted in minimal aboveground biomass reduction. A 45-d of exposure of fluridone (10 µg L−1) resulted in 95% biomass reduction of V. americana and 7% to 48% of other tested taxa. The combination of flumioxazin and florpyrauxifen-benzyl resulted in 90% to 100% aboveground biomass reduction, and endothall combined with florpyrauxifen-benzyl resulted in 93% to 100% aboveground biomass reduction across taxa. Reductions in belowground biomass mirrored trends observed in aboveground biomass. No treatments selectively controlled invasive Vallisneria without injury to native Vallisneria, although efficacy was observed on H. verticillata. These insights provide an understanding for differences between these Vallisneria for researchers moving forward with selectively targeting H. verticillata in the presence of native Vallisneria species and two new aquatic invasive plants. Future research should expand treatment scenarios, increase the study period, and identify potential integrated plant management strategies for field scenarios.

Fast and efficient identification is critical for reducing the likelihood of weed establishment and for appropriately managing established weeds. Traditional identification tools require either knowledge of technical morphological terminology or time-consuming image matching by the user. In recent years, deep learning computer vision models have become mature enough to enable automatic identification. The major remaining bottlenecks are the availability of a sufficient number of high-quality, reliably identified training images and the user-friendly, mobile operationalization of the technology. Here, we present the first weed identification and reporting app and website for all of Australia. It includes an image classification model covering more than 400 species of weeds and some Australian native relatives, with a focus on emerging biosecurity threats and spreading weeds that can still be eradicated or contained. It links the user to additional information provided by state and territory governments, flags species that are locally reportable or notifiable, and allows the creation of observation records in a central database. State and local weed officers can create notification profiles to be alerted of relevant weed observations in their area. We discuss the background of the WeedScan project, the approach taken in design and software development, the photo library used for training the WeedScan image classifier, the model itself and its accuracy, and technical challenges and how these were overcome.

Giant smutgrass [Sporobolus indicus (L.) R. Br. var. pyramidalis (P. Beauv.) Veldkamp] is an invasive species in grasslands, and herbicide application has been the most efficient management method to suppress this weed. Experiments were conducted in 2017 and 2018 to determine the effects of wiping glyphosate and hexazinone on S. indicus var. pyramidalis. A dose–response experiment using a handheld weed wiper was established with 20 treatments comprising two herbicides (glyphosate and hexazinone), uni- and bidirectional wiping methods, and 5 herbicide concentrations (6.25% v/v, 12.5% v/v, 25.0% v/v, 50.0% v/v, and 100% v/v basis). Data were collected 30 and 60 d after treatment (DAT). An ATV-mounted roto-type weed-wiper experiment was established in a strip-plot arrangement, with mowing as the horizontal strip, the wiping method (unidirectional vs. bidirectional) randomized as the vertical strip with three dosages of each herbicide for a total of 12 wiping treatments. Data were collected at 35 and 90 DAT. The percent plant mortality was calculated using differences in pre- and posttreatment plant counts. ANOVA and log-logistic linear regression were used to analyze the data. The dose–response experiment showed that S. indicus var. pyramidalis mortality increased with herbicide concentration, and mortality was greater with the bidirectional wiping method compared with the unidirectional method. Treatments wiped bidirectionally with glyphosate at 70% v/v, hexazinone at 30% v/v, and hexazinone at 60% v/v resulted in S. indicus var. pyramidalis mortality ranging from 75% to 98% by 90 DAT across all locations. The ATV-mounted weed-wiper experiment showed that mowing before herbicide application with weed wipers decreased the efficacy of both herbicides. Overall, both experiments indicate that S. indicus var. pyramidalis should be wiped bidirectionally using either glyphosate (70% v/v) or hexazinone (at least 30% v/v) to obtain satisfactory control. Further work should be conducted to determine whether seasonality impacts the response of S. indicus var. pyramidalis to mowing and the application of these herbicides.

Stem galls and witch’s broom–like growths are locally abundant on the highly invasive Brazilian peppertree (Schinus terebinthifolia) at field sites in southern Florida where a thrips biological control agent (Pseudophilothrips ichini) is being released to reduce the invasive potential of the plant. Galls have also been observed on potted plants in nursery stock grown to feed laboratory colonies of the agent. Herein, our objective was to isolate and identify the causal agent of the galls and assess its ability to induce galls in naive plants. We obtained stem galls from both field- and nursery-grown plants, aseptically isolated a fungus in acidic potato dextrose agar, and purified fungal colonies. Stems of potted naive saplings were wound-inoculated with purified hyphal fragments from the purified colonies, which readily induced galls like those observed in the field and nursery. Simultaneous molecular analysis of the fungal DNA obtained from the galls of field and nursery plants, experimentally induced galls, and fungal colony isolates identified this gall-inducing fungus as Cophinforma sp.. We demonstrated that this Cophinforma sp. can infect S. terebinthifolia stems via mechanical wounds and induce visibly discernible stem galls in saplings within 3 mo. This will serve as a model for galled plant production for assessing the impacts of the gall-inducing fungus on S. terebinthifolia, with potential for further study to investigate interactions between the thrips and this naturalized fungus, which may synergistically and/or additively enhance S. terebinthifolia management efficacy.

Hydrilla [Hydrilla verticillata (L. f.) Royle], an invasive aquatic weed, has had a rich introduction history into the United States, with multiple subspecies being introduced since the 1960s. The most recent occurred before 2016, when northern hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata ssp. lithuanica) was discovered in the Connecticut River. By 2021, following a 3-yr survey from Agawam, MA, to the Long Island Sound by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Office of Aquatic Invasive Species, H. verticillata ssp. lithuanica was found in more than 113 km of the river, occupying 344 ha. Since this survey, there has been concern that H. verticillata ssp. lithuanica would spread to nearby waterbodies and have a significant negative impact. Here, we report the first documented spread and establishment of H. verticillata ssp. lithuanica from the Connecticut River to five waterbodies in Connecticut and one in Massachusetts. Of the eight sites where H. verticillata observations were made, 75% (n = 6) were confirmed to be H. verticillata ssp. lithuanica and 25% (n = 2) to be Hydrilla verticillata ssp. peregrina (wandering hydrilla). Except for one site, all six locations infested with H. verticillata ssp. lithuanica provide watercraft access through public or private boat ramps. The authors also postulate on the mechanisms facilitating the spread and establishment of this subspecies.

Invasive plant taxa are generally regulated at the species level, without considering infra- or interspecific variation. However, cultivars or hybrids can pose a lower risk of invasion, for example, due to sterility. We evaluate six general approaches to regulating cultivars and hybrids: (1) Globally Guilty by Association; (2) Nationally Guilty by Association; (3) Guilty until Proven Innocent; (4) Negotiated Guilt; (5) Claimed to be Innocent; and (6) Innocent until Proven Guilty. We discuss these approaches in the context of South Africa (which has a typified Negotiated Guilt approach). Following negotiations since 2001 between the South African horticultural industry/green industry and legislators, an unofficial consensus list of “presumed sterile” cultivars and hybrids was produced in 2014 containing 187 entities from 34 taxa. In 2020, this was reduced to 157 entities from 16 taxa. But the evidence supporting the original lists and the subsequent revisions was not published. To address this issue, we developed a generic pro forma (template) for reporting sterility based on observations and/or experiments on: flowering, fruiting, pollen, and seeds; the potential for vegetative propagation; and the potential for genetic changes (including hybridization and reversion to fertility). We recommend that such information be incorporated into risk analyses conducted specifically for infra- and inter specific entities, and only if the risk of a harmful invasion is demonstrated to be acceptably low or can be easily mitigated should such entities be exempted from regulation. This will be time-consuming, but, by setting out the evidence clearly, the approach is transparent and provides a clear route for stakeholders to seek exemptions for entities of importance. In conclusion, although we suspect the simplicity of the Negotiated Guilt approach is desirable to many stakeholders, and is the approach currently adopted in South Africa, we recommend a shift toward the Guilty until Proven Innocent approach.

Tree-of-heaven [Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle] readily exploits disturbances, grows quickly into dense monocultures, and suppresses native plant species. The vascular wilt pathogen, Verticillium nonalfalfae, native to the eastern United States, has been proposed as a biocontrol agent for the invasive A. altissima. Studies consistently demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the bioherbicide, but they also note that the selective nature of the fungus does not preclude other invasive plants that commonly co-occur with A. altissima from occupying the site. We quantified the standing plant community and seedbank at several sites across Virginia 5 yr after inoculation with V. nonalfalfae to understand which species are present or being naturally recruited. Ailanthus altissima remained dominant in untreated areas but was nearly eradicated from the treatment plots. Other non-native species made up a large portion of the plant community and seedbank across all study areas, with no differences in their respective cover and count between treatments. While variability in plant community composition is high and site-specific context is important for establishing effective management strategies, planting native species and mitigating other invasives will be crucial to ensuring native species successfully establish in bioherbicide-treated areas.