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Global climate change is one of many factors that may contribute to the
spread of weeds. Personally I think human disturbance to an area, whether
it is by grazing animals, other agricultural activities, building roads,
cutting down trees, intentionally planting weeds, changing soil chemistry
via air pollution, etc. is even more important. The issues are complex
and I think the trend to lump together insects, plants, animals, viral
and fungal pathogens under the general term of '"invasive" and
declaring "war on invasives" is a serious oversimplification of
individual and complex issues that are best managed on a case by case
basis. Plant scientists are not entomologists nor disease toxicologists
and vice versa. As much as I agree with Craig's estimates of the costs of
restoration and I am not sure that is possible at any cost, I doubt very
much if funds will be provided for this effort. I do see funding becoming
available for killing weeds but I question the validity of such funding
if not followed up by correcting the conditions that led to the weed
infestations in the first place. <br>
Bob Beyfuss<br><br>
At 11:28 AM 10/15/2007, Patricia_DeAngelis@fws.gov wrote:<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">It's great to see this issue
getting more press. But, I also see where Wayne is coming from.
<br><br>
The article below mentions two conditions that will contribute to the
proliferation of invasives in response to global climate change:
<ul>
<li>fires deposit nutrients into the soil that encourage the growth of
cheatgrass
<li>increased atmospheric carbon dioxide, typically associated with
climate changes, encourages the growth of tough cheatgrass
</ul><br>
I just attended a conference two weeks ago on global climate change and
the effect on local flora in the Appalachians of Maryland and West
Virginia. One of the speakers mentioned that recent research was
suggesting that invasives would take off with global climate change -
that the hotter, drier conditions will favor them. He pointed out
that this is not necessarily true. <i>Microstegium </i>(Japanese
stiltgrass), for instance, which is plaguing the Appalachians is not good
at getting into the drier sites. <br>
<br>
So, although I am pleased at the increased attention to this issue, I
think Wayne's point is well taken. As plant scientists, it's
important for us to resist the urge to put specific situations into a
general "Inbox." Different species will react differently
in different environments. It's our job to explore the
possibilities and to help others understand them without making sweeping
generalizations. <br><br>
<font size=2>Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.<br>
Botanist - Division of Scientific Authority<br>
Chair - Plant Conservation Alliance - Medicinal Plant Working Group<br>
US Fish & Wildlife Service<br>
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 110<br>
Arlington, VA 22203<br>
703-358-1708 x1753<br>
FAX: 703-358-2276<br>
Working for the conservation and sustainable use of our green natural
resources.<br>
<<a href="http://www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal" eudora="autourl">
www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal</a>><br>
</font><br><br>
<br>
<font size=1><b>Wayne Tyson <landrest@cox.net></b> </font><br>
<font size=1>Sent by: rwg-bounces@lists.plantconservation.org</font>
<br><br>
<font size=1>10/12/2007 11:02 PM</font> <br>
<div align="right"><font size=1>To<br>
</div>
Olivia Kwong <plant@plantconservation.org>,
native-plants@lists.plantconservation.org,
apwg@lists.plantconservation.org, rwg@lists.plantconservation.org</font>
<br>
<div align="right"><font size=1>cc<br>
Subject<br>
</div>
[RWG] FIRE 07 Climate change Re: NEWS: Climate change likely to increase
fires</font> <br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
Invasive plants like the Sahara mustard are quite likely to be a factor
in wildfires, as they fill spaces between widely-scattered shrubs, and
climate change will no doubt affect fire behavior, but I yearn for more
evidence and less opinion and conjecture regarding such sweeping
conclusions. It makes for good press, but what is needed is good
research and solid data. Fires have, and will continue to be, a
factor in Great Basin ecosystems, but the real question is what precisely
is the connection between the data and the conclusions, and what is the
<i>marginal </i>difference. Sensationalism destroys credibility,
and "we" need credibility more than ever in these truly pivotal
times. <br><br>
WT<br><br>
At 12:53 PM 10/12/2007, Olivia Kwong wrote: <br>
<font color="#0000FF"><u>
<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071012/ap_on_sc/wildfires_climate_change">
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071012/ap_on_sc/wildfires_climate_change</a>
</u></font> <br><br>
Climate change likely to increase fires<br><br>
By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY, Associated Press Writer Thu Oct 11, 8:26 PM
ET<br><br>
LAS VEGAS - Climate change is likely to increase the number of wildfires
<br>
fueled by invasive weeds that are spreading throughout the Great Basin,
<br>
researchers told a U.S. Senate subcommittee Thursday.<br><br>
See the link above for the full article text.<br><br>
<br>
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</u></font> <br>
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