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Wild Boar Control in Great Smoky Mountain National Park

The Invasive Species Information Node partner University of Tennessee Chattanooga (UTC) geographic information systems (GIS) research laboratory, working in tandem with wildlife management officers from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), has begun to use GIS to examine twenty-six years of park service efforts to control populations More...

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Pre-Fire Fuel Manipulation Impacts on Alien Plant Invasion of Wildlands

This project investigates the role of pre-fire fuel reduction manipulation projects on the invasion of nonnative plants. This study is designed to answer the following questions: 1. Do nonnative plants become established within fuel breaks? 2. Are some types of fuel breaks less likely to support nonnative species? 3. Do fuel breaks promote the More...

  • Shaded fuel break in Plumas National Forest

Ecological Impacts of Invasive Exotic Species

This web resources discusses the awareness of modern ecologists of the problems caused by the invasion of exotic species into natural areas and the associated negative effects on global patterns of native biodiversity. Once established, some exotic species have the ability to displace or replace native plant and animal species, disrupt nutrient More...

  • Saltcedar flowers (Tamarix ramosissima)

Use of Fire as a Tool for Controlling Invasive Plants

"Prescribed fire" has been used to reduce hazardous fuel loads, restore historical disturbance regimes, improve forage and habitat for game and livestock species, and promote biodiversity. In some cases, fire has also been used to manage invasive plant species. The goal of this report is to capture the current state of knowledge on the use of More...

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Distribution, Abundance and Ecology of Introduced Plants in the Sierra Nevada National Parks: Baseline Data for Management

Invasion and subsequent restructuring of ecosystems by nonnative organisms is taking on increasingly urgent significance as an example of human-caused environmental change with potentially dramatic consequences. This web resource discusses the affects of vascular plants - particularly in Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks - on the More...

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Effects of Fuel Management Treatments in Pinon Juniper Vegetation at a Site on the Colorado Plateau

Pinon-juniper woodlands have expanded beyond their historical range in the western United States, due partly to land management practices such as fire suppression that began with settlements of the region in the late 1880s. This woodland expansion has replaced sagebrush steppe vegetation, leading to decreased wildlife habitat, soil seedbanks, and More...

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Nonnative Grass Invasions and Fire in the Mojave Desert

This issue overview focuses on nonnative grass invasions and fire in the Mojave Desert, which appear to have been infrequent historically. When fires occurred, gaps of plant-free space separating individual shrubs, bunchgrasses, cacti, and trees, stopped the spread of fires like networks of small firebreaks. The increasing dominance of nonnative More...

  • Night view of fire burning in the Mojave Desert

Southwest Exotic Plant Information Clearinghouse (SWEPIC)

From the website: "The Southwest Exotic Plant Information Clearinghouse is a cooperative effort among the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service and Northern Arizona University to organize comprehensive information on exotic plant species in the southwest on one web location. SWEPIC serves to help all people and organizations committed More...

  • Centaurea solstitialis, photo

Ecological forecasting: A strategic partnership to predict and manage biological invasions

Research Spotlight on new supercomputer model that generates maps of invasives occurrence and areas of vulnerablity. This resource is a joint effort to combat invasive species in the U.S. and includes related resource links, collaborators, and example of the mapping and modeling process, and project details, combining resources and expertise in More...

  • Photograph of a researcher holding a handfull of brown tree snakes.

Wildland Fire in Ecosystems: Fire and Nonnative Invasive Plants

Where nonnative plant species have invaded wildlands or have potential to invade, fire may influence their abundance and the effects of the nonnative species on native plant communities. USGS scientists and colleagues have contributed chapters to a volume that synthesizes scientific information regarding wildland fire and nonnative invasive plant More...

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CerroGrande WildFire Invasive Species Mapping Project

The CerroGrande WildFire Invasive Species Mapping Project utilizes predictive spatial models to predict the total number of plant species richness likely to be found for any given location within the cerro grande wildfire (New Mexico). The number of invasive species was found to be correlated with areas of high native species richness.

  • Cerro Grande Wildfire Map Species Richness Model

DiscoverLife

The Invasive Species Information Node partner DiscoverLife.org has been developing an all taxa species identification web tool. They conceptualized the Polistes Foundation, Nature Days, ID Nature guides, and an online reporting tool (the Polistes Global Map Browser powered by TopoZone) that allows users to report a siting of a species location. More...

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