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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Lauderdale, Florida » Invasive Plant Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #276776
Title: T.A.M.E. Melaleuca: a regional approach for suppressing one of Florida's worst weeds

Author
item SILVERS, CRESSIDA - Former ARS Employee
item Pratt, Paul
item FERRITER, AMY - Boise State University
item Center, Ted

Submitted to: Ecological Society of America Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/17/2006
Publication Date: 1/15/2007
Citation: Silvers, C., Pratt, P.D., Ferriter, A., Center, T.D. 2007. T.A.M.E. Melaleuca: a regional approach for suppressing one of Florida's worst weeds. Ecological Society of America Proceedings. Proceedings of the Ecological Society of America 91st Annual Meeting.

Interpretive Summary: The adventive Australian tree Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) S.T. Blake is an invasive pest plant in the greater Everglades region of Florida. Public agencies and organizations responsible for natural areas management have developed effective chemical and mechanical strategies for treating infestations, but these methods can be costly and labor intensive. Meanwhile, many infestations on privately held lands remain unmanaged. The melaleuca biological control program, developed to complement conventional removal tactics, reduces reproduction and growth of the tree and functions on unmanaged lands. But the full impacts of the biological control program will only be realized when private land owners and public land managers become familiar with its benefits. An areawide pest management project for melaleuca was initiated in 2001 with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) to promote regional implementation of biological control as the basis for integrated management. Modeled after other successful areawide projects, principal components of the project include high stakeholder participation, treatment demonstration sites and assessments, melaleuca distribution surveys, socio-economic assessments of melaleuca impacts, and transfer of technology and information to professional land managers and private land owners. Herein, we discuss reasons for developing the melaleuca areawide project, describe the project components and their expected outcomes.

Technical Abstract: The adventive Australian tree Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) S.T. Blake is an invasive pest plant in the greater Everglades region of Florida. Public agencies and organizations responsible for natural areas management have developed effective chemical and mechanical strategies for treating infestations, but these methods can be costly and labor intensive. Meanwhile, many infestations on privately held lands remain unmanaged. The melaleuca biological control program, developed to complement conventional removal tactics, reduces reproduction and growth of the tree and functions on unmanaged lands. But the full impacts of the biological control program will only be realized when private land owners and public land managers become familiar with its benefits. An areawide pest management project for melaleuca was initiated in 2001 with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) to promote regional implementation of biological control as the basis for integrated management. Modeled after other successful areawide projects, principal components of the project include high stakeholder participation, treatment demonstration sites and assessments, melaleuca distribution surveys, socio-economic assessments of melaleuca impacts, and transfer of technology and information to professional land managers and private land owners. Herein, we discuss reasons for developing the melaleuca areawide project, describe the project components and their expected outcomes.