[APWG] Altering is too kind, destroy not strong enough

[Bob Beyfuss]

Hi Craig and all,
Replaced is the correct term.
Destroying implies a value judgment that the invasive plants are "bad" and 
the plants that they are replacing are "good". In science there are no 
"good" or "bad" plants as there are no "good" or "bad" ecosystems. Nature 
lovers may not like or may not find attractive the ecosystems that occur, 
for example, in a vacant lot in an inner city but that does not make those 
ecosystems "bad'. There are particular ecosystems that humans want to 
protect for many reasons and that is fine but these are human value 
judgements. If a scientist studying any particular ecosystem did not know 
ahead of time that it was dominated by invasive, exotic plants, it would be 
impossible for he or she to determine if the plants present on site were 
native or exotic based on the biology of the plants and their 
interactions.  Let me cite a real life example to make my point. A few 
weeks ago a client called me looking for information on how to eradicate 
invasive, Asiatic bittersweet that she had found on her property.  I asked 
her if she was certain that it was the Asiatic variety and not the native 
bittersweet. She replied that she no idea how to distinguish them. I asked 
her if it turned out that the bittersweet on her property were the native 
variety, would she still want to eradicate it? Her answer was "of course 
not". Her only criteria for wanting to eradicate the plant was the 
supposition that it was exotic. In my mind that is not a good reason to 
eradicate anything, especaill\y when there are no guarantees that the 
plants eradicated will not be replaced by something even less desirable. 
When science is reduced  to name calling to provoke an emotional response, 
it is not science.
Bob



At 03:13 PM 3/4/2008, Craig Dremann - Redwood City Seed Company wrote:
>Dear All,
>
>I am very surpised to read the discussions on the semantics, of what to
>call exotic plants and their impacts on local native ecosystems.
>
>I can only speak from the California perspective, where 99% of the
>understory of our native ecosystems between 2 and 2,000 feet elevation,
>have been replaced by over 1,000 species of exotic plants.
>
>What do you call that effect, using words that express such a complete
>extermination of native ecosystems, within only 150 years or less?
>
>Ecosystem genocide?  Permanent native vegetation extinction, continuing
>through geologic time?
>
>Sincerely,  Craig Dremann (650) 325-7333
>
>
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