|
Introduction
Management of
hawkweed-invaded sites has had mixed results. Controlling hawkweed
has relied mostly on selective herbicides. Herbicides are effective
in suppressing hawkweeds but reinvasion occurs unless other plant
species fill the gaps left by hawkweed removal. Control and
management of meadow hawkweed has been complicated by the plant’s
ability to persist following chemical and cultural control inputs.
Hawkweeds
often invade sites in cleared forest zones which are typically low
in available nutrients. Hawkweeds are thought to persist in these
sites because they capture nitrogen in nutrient-poor soils, thus
limiting nutrients available to competing plants. Fertilizers and
soil fertility management have been used to effectively control
hawkweeds in some areas, especially in new hawkweed infestations or
where hawkweed density is relatively low. Long-term management of
hawkweed needs to emphasize altering conditions in the plant
community to favor grasses and native forbs, following initial
hawkweed control efforts.
Alternative
control solutions, including biological control, are being
investigated. To this end, the British Columbia Ministry of Forests
and Range and the Ministry of Agriculture and Land together with the
Idaho Department of Agriculture and the Montana Noxious Weed Trust
Fund, are primary sponsors of the Biological Control Program in the
Invasive Hawkweed Consortium
Control |
