eCommons

 

Ecological And Economic Impacts Of An Invasive Plant Species

Other Titles

Abstract

Although invasive species are defined by U.S. law as species that cause environmental or economic harm, we have a limited understanding of each concept. In my thesis, I use both ecological and economic methods to explore the impacts of nonnative plants. In Chapter 1, I report the results of a two experiments in which I tested whether plant-derived compounds have an impact on larval amphibian performance, and whether this effect is predictable by plant native/non-native status. I find that tannins, saponins, and leachate from certain plant populations impact amphibian survival, rate of metamorphosis, and size-traits linked to adult fitness. In Chapter 2, I report my findings from a survey of 285 public and private land managers from across the United States. In total, managers spend at least $4.6 million on Phragmites australis (common reed) control. Over 90% of these organizations have applied herbicide in the past five years, treating a total of 83,000 wetland hectares with 28,000-20,000,000 L of herbicide product. Despite this high expenditure of resources and chemicals, organizations report that they rarely accomplish management objectives. In Chapter 3, I use conjoint analysis, a method of non-market valuation, to describe the impact of invasive plants in terms of management trade-offs rather than dollar value. It is my hope that a more synthetic understanding of invasive plant management will lead to more economically and ecologically sustainable land stewardship. ii

Journal / Series

Volume & Issue

Description

Sponsorship

Date Issued

2010-08-05T16:04:01Z

Publisher

Keywords

Location

Effective Date

Expiration Date

Sector

Employer

Union

Union Local

NAICS

Number of Workers

Committee Chair

Committee Co-Chair

Committee Member

Degree Discipline

Degree Name

Degree Level

Related Version

Related DOI

Related To

Related Part

Based on Related Item

Has Other Format(s)

Part of Related Item

Related To

Related Publication(s)

Link(s) to Related Publication(s)

References

Link(s) to Reference(s)

Previously Published As

Government Document

ISBN

ISMN

ISSN

Other Identifiers

Rights

Rights URI

Types

dissertation or thesis

Accessibility Feature

Accessibility Hazard

Accessibility Summary

Link(s) to Catalog Record