Invasive Species in Forests and Rangelands of the United States A Comprehensive Science Synthesis for the United States Forest Sector

This open access book describes the serious threat of invasive species to native ecosystems. Invasive species have caused and will continue to cause enormous ecological and economic damage with ever increasing world trade. This multi-disciplinary book, written by over 100 national experts, presents the latest research on a wide range of natural science and social science fields that explore the ecology, impacts, and practical tools for management of invasive species. It covers species of all taxonomic groups from insects and pathogens, to plants, vertebrates, and aquatic organisms that impact a diversity of habitats in forests, rangelands and grasslands of the United States. It is well-illustrated, provides summaries of the most important invasive species and issues impacting all regions of the country, and includes a comprehensive primary reference list for each topic. This scientific synthesis provides the cultural, economic, scientific and social context for addressing environmental challenges posed by invasive species and will be a valuable resource for scholars, policy makers, natural resource managers and practitioners.

Chapter 1. Introduction (Deborah C. Hayes, Becky K. Kerns, Toral Patel-Weynand, and Deborah M. Finch).- Chapter 2. Impacts of Invasive Species in Terrestrial and Aquatic Systems in the United States (Albert E. Mayfield III, Steven J. Seybold, Wendell R. Haag, M. Tracy Johnson, Becky K. Kerns, John C. Kilgo, Daniel J. Larkin, Rima D. Lucardi, Bruce D. Moltzan, Dean E. Pearson, John D. Rothlisberger, Jeffrey D. Schardt, Michael K. Schwartz, and Michael K. Young).- Chapter 3. Impacts of Invasive Species on Forest and Grassland Ecosystem Processes in the United States (Chelcy Ford Miniat, Jennifer M. Fraterrigo, Steven T. Brantley, Mac A. Callaham, Jr., Susan Cordell, Jeffrey S. Dukes, Christian P. Giardina, Shibu Jose, and Gary Lovett).- Chapter 4. Effects of Climate Change on Invasive Species (Deborah M. Finch, Jack L. Butler, Justin B. Runyon, Christopher J. Fettig, Francis F. Kilkenny, Shibu Jose, Susan J. Frankel, Samuel A. Cushman, Richard C. Cobb, Jeffrey S. Dukes, Jeffrey A. Hicke, and Sybill K. Amelon).- Chapter 5. Invasive Species Response to Natural and Anthropogenic Disturbance (Susan E. Meyer, Mac A. Callaham, Jr., Jane E. Stewart, and Steven D. Warren).- Chapter 6. Early Intervention Strategies for Invasive Species Management: Connections Between Risk Assessment, Prevention Efforts, Eradication, and Other Rapid Responses (Robert C. Venette, Doria R. Gordon, Jennifer Juzwik, Frank H. Koch, Andrew M. Liebhold, Robert K.D. Peterson, Sharlene E. Sing, and Denys Yemshanov).- Chapter 7. Management of Landscapes for Established Invasive Species (Therese M. Poland, Jennifer Juzwik, Allen Rowley, Cynthia D. Huebner, John C. Kilgo, Vanessa M. Lopez, Deanna H. Olson, Dean Pearson, Robert Progar, Robert Rabaglia, John D. Rothlisberger, Justin B. Runyon, and Sharlene E. Sing).- Chapter 8. Restoration of Landscapes and Habitats Affected by Established Invasive Species (Jennifer Koch, Dean E. Pearson, Cynthia D. Huebner, Michael K. Young, and Richard A. Sniezko).- Chapter 9. Sectoral Impacts of Invasive Species in the United States and Approaches to Management (Anne S. Marsh, Deborah C. Hayes, Patrice N. Klein, Nicole Zimmerman, Alison Dalsimer, Douglas A. Burkett, Cynthia D. Huebner, Robert Rabaglia, Laura A. Meyerson, Bonnie L. Harper-Lore, Jamie L. Davidson, Marla R. Emery, Travis Warziniack, Rebecca Flitcroft, Becky K. Kerns, and Vanessa M. Lopez).- Chapter 10. Inventory and Monitoring of Invasive Species (Sonja Oswalt, Chris Oswalt, Alycia Crall, Robert Rabaglia, Michael Schwartz, and Becky K. Kerns).- Chapter 11. Tools and Technologies for Quantifying Spread and Impacts of Invasive Species (Matt Reeves, Inés Ibáñez, Dana Blumenthal, Gang Chen, Qinfeng Guo, Catherine Jarnevich, Jennifer Koch, Frank Sapio, Michael K. Schwartz, Bruce K. Wylie, and Stephen Boyte).- Chapter 12. Social and Cultural Dynamics of Non-Native Invasive Species (John Schelhas, Janice Alexander, Mark Brunson, Tommy Cabe, Alycia Crall, Michael J. Dockry, Marla R. Emery, Susan J. Frankel, Nina Hapner, Caleb R. Hickman, Rebecca Jordan, Michael J. LaVoie, Zhao Ma, Ross K. Meentemeyer, Joe Starinchak, and Jelena Vukomanovic).- Chapter 13. The Role of International Cooperation in Invasive Species Research (Andrew Liebhold, Faith Campbell, Doria R. Gordon, Qinfeng Guo, Nathan Havill, Bradley Kinder, Richard MacKenzie, David R. Lance, Dean Pearson, Sharlene E. Sing, Travis Warziniack, Robert C. Venette, and Denys Yemshanov).- Chapter 14. Economics of Invasive Species (Travis Warziniack, Robert G. Haight, Denys Yemshanov, Jenny L. Apriesnig, Thomas P. Holmes, Amanda M. Countryman, John D. Rothlisberger, and Christopher Haberland).- Chapter 15. Legislation and Policy (Faith T. Campbell, Hilda Diaz-Soltero, and Deborah C. Hayes).- Chapter 16. Future Invasive Species Research Challenges and Opportunities (Becky K. Kerns, Therese M. Poland, Robert C. Venette, Toral Patel-Weynand, Deborah M. Finch, Allen Rowley, Deborah C. Hayes, Mike Ielmini).- APPENDIX 1:  Regional Summaries.

The editors are USDA Forest Service research scientists, managers, and national program leaders who specialize on invasive species and strategic planning for research and management programs.  Therese Poland is a research entomologist and conducts research to develop tools for detecting and managing invasive insects; Toral Patel-Weynand is the national program director for Sustainable Forest Management Research and coordinates national strategies and research priorities on forest management research and sustainability issues including disturbance from invasive species; Deborah Finch is a research biologist and specializes on management of invasive plants and fuel to reduce fire risk as well as their impacts on ecosystem processes and functions; Chelcy Ford Miniat is a research ecologist and studies how invasive species affect carbon, nutrient, and water cycling processes; Vanessa Lopez serves as the national program leader for invasive plants with Forest Service State and Private Forestry and has previously worked on invasive insects and diseases including research on dispersal and biological control of woodboring beetles.