Abstract
Monitoring the expansion and impact of exotic and invasive plants is a task that can be accomplished at various levels. Traditionally, activities to study and monitor exotic plants have been the domain of research scientists, biologists and other professionals within government agencies, academic institutions and museums. The increasing impact of exotics on natural habitats requires that a broader level of participation in monitoring their spread is required. Naturalists, in particular, could greatly assist by contributing to the development of a comprehensive base of information that would facilitate efforts to control or slow the spread of exotic plants.
The monitoring protocol for exotic and invasive plants has been prepared in the form of a semi-popular guide aimed at promoting the collaboration of naturalists and trail associations in the process of recording the presence, spread and impact of exotic plants on natural habitats. To promote such initiatives, the guide presents example projects of monitoring activities and provides descriptions of simple tools and techniques that can be used to record valuable information on invasive plants. The monitoring activities described are aimed not only at providing useful information on invasive plants but, as well, serving as a means of raising awareness within the naturalist communities of the impact of invasive plants on natural habitats and Canadian biodiversity. Monitoring activities are promoted as a means of initiating local actions to control the spread of invasive plants and as a way of contributing to national initiatives to reduce the impact of exotic species on native ecosystems.
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