Weeds
Weeds in New Zealand are a growing problem, costing billions of dollars to control and often causing irreversible damage to ecosystems. This group works to reduce the environmental, economic and social impacts of invasive plants by undertaking research to better understand how plants become weeds and how best to manage them, including a strong focus on biocontrol (see below). Other teams are involved in identifying weeds and documenting their distributions, studying the impacts of weeds, and exploring the social dimensions of managing weeds effectively.
Research
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Biocontrol and Ecology of Weeds
Reducing the environmental, economic and social impacts of invasive plants by undertaking research to understand how best to manage them, including a strong focus on developing biological control programmes. -
Determining change in distribution and impact of weeds
The current approach to measuring the impact of invasive species is Impact = Abundance x Distribution x Effect. Measuring distribution and abundance is relatively straightforward, but effects are more difficult to quantify or understand. -
Invasion Ecology
Understanding what controls the invasibility of natural ecosystems as well as the ecosystem–level impacts of exotic species as a basis for management