Regulatory exclusion of harmful non-indigenous plants from the United States by USDA APHIS PPQ

Many plant species that have been moved beyond their historical ranges by humans survive only under cultivation. However, some introduced species do naturalize and become a threat to the biodiversity of natural areas and/or production capacity of developed or agricultural ecosystems. Such invaders m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Castanea 1996, Vol.61 (3), p.305-312
Main Authors: Westbrooks, R.G, Eplee, R.E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agroecosystems
Biological taxonomies
Government regulation
Infestation
Introduced species
Invasion of the South: The Ecological Impact and Control of Exotic Weeds in the Southeastern United States: Symposium Given at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. April 20, 1995
Invasive species
laws and regulations
Noxious weeds
Pests
Plants
Sustainable agriculture
weed science
weeds
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Summary:Many plant species that have been moved beyond their historical ranges by humans survive only under cultivation. However, some introduced species do naturalize and become a threat to the biodiversity of natural areas and/or production capacity of developed or agricultural ecosystems. Such invaders may be termed biological pollutants. One example of a new arrival that has become a biological pollutant in the southeastern United States is tropical soda apple (Solanum viarum Dunal) (TSA). TSA is a native of South America that has recently been reported in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina, and poses a threat to all of the South. One objective of APHIS is to prevent the entry and establishment of foreign weeds such as TSA in the United States under authority of the Federal Noxious Weed Act (FNWA). Regulatory strategies that are utilized to protect the United States from foreign weeds include prevention (production of weed free commodities overseas); preclearance of high risk commodities at foreign ports of export; port of entry inspections; treatment or other mitigation systems; and finally early detection, containment, and eradication of incipient infestations that become established in the United States. Over the past several years, efforts have been made to eradicate 12 Federal Noxious Weeds at localized sites in the United States through cooperative projects with affected states.
ISSN:0008-7475
1938-4386