Aquatic Plant Management

Abstract

While aquatic plants are an integral component of freshwater ecosystems, invasive aquatic plants can cause severe environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Managing aquatic plants is highly complex for a range of reasons. Tools developed for terrestrial weed management are frequently unsuitable for freshwater environments. Also, unfamiliarity with the effective control of invasive aquatic plants often leads to a haphazard approach, lacking clear management goals, or tools are chosen based on hearsay or personal preferences. As a result, the management of aquatic plants is often inefficient, and at worst, causes significant environmental damage to sensitive aquatic environments.

The management of aquatic plants is highly situation-dependent, and control tools should be selected based on management goals, the scale of the problem, the stage of the invasion process, the availability of funds, social acceptability, the growth form of the target species, and the specific settings of the aquatic environment (e.g., bathymetry, water movement, water physicochemical parameters, and human use). There is a wide variety of available control tools that fit into five categories: (1) surveillance and prevention, (2) physical control that uses various machinery and manual techniques, (3) chemical control with herbicides, (4) biological control, and (5) habitat modification and restoration activities. None of these control tools is inherently better than others, as all have benefits and limitations in terms of direct and indirect costs, control efficacy, and situation-specific suitability. It is important to intelligently choose and integrate tools for situation-specific management goals.

This chapter provides an overview of the ecology of aquatic plants, discusses the benefits and limitations of various control tools, and lastly discusses how to apply these tools for the effective management of aquatic plants.