Weed Management

Weed invasion is widely recognised as a major threatening process for a wide range of ecosystems around the world. Australian rangelands already support a large number of alien plant species in a variety of growth forms, but in general their impact on biodiversity is poorly documented. Because weeds have the potential to alter any aspect of ecosystem structure and function there is real value in monitoring how biodiversity responds to weed invasions to enable the development appropriate weed management strategies. Monitoring the abundance, distribution and growth forms of weeds in rangelands is likely to be a useful indicator of rangeland condition. An overview of the nature of the current and future threat posed by invasive plant species in the rangelands considers how they affect rangelands systems, particularly the biodiversity that rangelands support and discusses the significance of invasive species for the monitoring of rangeland biodiversity (A).