Eradication of Commelina benghalensis in a long-term experiment using a multistakeholder governance model: A case of regulatory concerns defeating ecological management success

Authors: LEON, RAMON - North Carolina State University; CREAMER, NANCY - North Carolina State University; REBERG-HORTON, CHRIS - North Carolina State University; Franzluebbers, Alan

Submitted to: Invasive Plant Science and Management
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/18/2022
Publication Date: 9/12/2022
Citation: Leon, R.G., Creamer, N., Reberg-Horton, C., Franzluebbers, A.J. 2022. Eradication of Commelina benghalensis in a long-term experiment using a multistakeholder governance model: A case of regulatory concerns defeating ecological management success. Invasive Plant Science and Management. 15:152-159. https://doi.org/10.1017/inp.2022.23.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/inp.2022.23

Interpretive Summary: Tropical spiderwort is a noxious, invasive weed that was detected in a long-term field experiment in the Coastal Plain region of North Carolina. A multistakeholder governance model was used to manage its invasion once it was detected at high levels. An ARS scientist at Raleigh, North Carolina collaborated with investigators at North Carolina State University and field managers at North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to document this process. Removal of the pest was from a combination of monitoring, mapping, and physical removal. Over time, spiderwort population decreased logarithmically from more than 50,000 plants on 200 acres in 2005 to 19 plants in one acre in 2019, with a projection of full eradication by 2024. Unfortunately, regulators decided that fumigation of a few target fields was needed to lift the quarantine of the experimental area. This drastic ending step was disappointing to the different stakeholders who participated in the original plan. Important shortcomings that led to disappointment were that the original plan did not include specific milestones, and there was no definition of acceptable progress. Also, no financial limits were established, which concerned administrators about long-term financial. Multistakeholder governance can effectively address plant invasions, but the model should balance decision-making control.

Technical Abstract: Tropical spiderwort (Commelina benghalensis L.) is a noxious invasive species and was detected in a long-term experiment in a research farm in Goldsboro, NC. A multistakeholder governance model was used to address the invasion of this species. Regulators insisted on the use of fumigation in all fields, but after intense negotiations, a multi-tier eradication plan was designed and implemented, allowing fumigation outside the long-term experiment and a combination of integrated approaches (including physical removal) and intense monitoring and mapping for long-term experimental fields. In the long-term experiment, C. benghalensis populations decreased logarithmically from more than 50,000 plants in approximately 80 ha in 2005 to 19 plants in less than 1 ha in 2019, with a projection of full eradication by 2024. Despite these results, which were considered to be proof of successful ecological management by university researchers, regulators decided to fumigate the fields containing the remaining 19 plants. This decision was made because regulators considered factors such as professional liability and control efficacy. This created serious disagreements between the different stakeholders who participated in the design of the original plan. Despite the goodwill all parties exhibited at the beginning of the governance process, there were important shortcomings that likely contributed to the disagreements at the end. For example, the plan did not include specific milestones, and there was no clarity about what acceptable progress was based on (i.e., plant numbers or the rate of population decline). Also, no financial limits were established, which made administrators concerned about the financial burden the eradication program had become over time. Multistakeholder governance can effectively address plant invasions, but proper definition of progress and the point at which the program must be modified are critical for success, and all this must be done within a governance model that balances power in the decision-making process.