Management feasibility of established invasive plant species in Queensland, Australia: A stakeholders’ perspective

Segun Osunkoya and colleagues have published “Management feasibility of established invasive plant species in Queensland, Australia: A stakeholders’ perspective” in Journal of Environmental Management. Managing and monitoring invasive alien species is costly and prioritization decisions are required. They presented prioritizations for 63 established invader plant species of natural and grazing ecosystems of Queensland using an expert elicitation process. Stakeholders were optimistic about the feasibility of managing invasive plants but the overall feasibility of control was uncorrelated with this  level of confidence. They also combined risk assessment and management feasibility scores to create a risk matrix to guide policy goals and identify promising species to target for each policy outcome. The approach illustrated (i) the importance of understanding the feasibility of control actions and the factors that drive it, and (ii) that quantifying management feasibility can enhance traditional risk assessment rankings to improve policy outcomes.

Osunkoya, O.O., Froese, J.G. and Nicol, S. 2019. Management feasibility of established invasive plant species in Queensland, Australia: A stakeholders’ perspective. Journal of Environmental Management 246: 484-495.