Advances in the management of invasive plants

Invasive plant management has moved beyond the application of conventional control methods and new methods and approaches are constantly being developed. In this chapter, we summarize a number of recent advances in the management of different stages of the invasion process of alien plants. We discuss advances in managing the whole invasion process, such as systematic examinations (horizon scanning) to identify potential future invaders as well as management issues involving stakeholders in the development and implementation of management actions, and managing pathways of introduction and spread. We also discuss advances in the management of particular stages. At the introduction stage, covering the important pathway of invasive ornamental plants, the development of non-invasive cultivars (non-invasive crop ideotypes), could offer a management solution for some ornamental alien plants. For monitoring the establishment and spread stages, we discuss the use of technologies to analyse DNA sampled directly from the environment (environmental DNA) and detect and monitor the physical characteristics of particular areas (remote sensing), and the contributions of volunteer citizens (citizen science). At the spread stage, further technological advances are expected from editing genes (CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive) in biological control, while for some species, utilization or acceptance could offer viable alternatives. Modelling approaches are considered as a useful tool for decision making on management actions with limited resources. Finally, focusing on increasing the resistance of ecosystems against invasive plants seems to be a promising approach for ecosystem level management. While many of these advances have shown great potential for improving invasive plants management, we still find a lack of collection of evidence for their effectiveness in real world applications.