Plant invasions: species ecology and ecosystem management Edited by G. Brundu, J. Brock, I. Camarda, L. Child and M. Wade ISBN 9057820803, published in 2001 by Backhuys Publishers, The Netherlands, soft cover, 338 pages Price approx. $A220.00 (may vary with exchange rate) plus $A10 postage within Australia, overseas postage please request a quote

Review

Plant invasions are a major issue in ecological science. They impact on ecosystems around the world, often with disastrous results to the inhabitants of those ecosystems. The mass transport of goods and people, as well as the degradation and fragmentation of natural habitats through rapidly increasing human populations and urbanization, and intensive agricultural and forestry practices, are major driving forces that increase the movement of species over natural boundaries and influence the success of new invasions. As a result, the flora of most countries is rich in non-native plant species. Not all alien species cause problems, however become aggressively invasive in their introduced range and can cause significant impact.

This book builds on material presented at the 5th International Conference on the Ecology of Invasive Alien Plants, 13–16 October 1999, held on the Mediterranean island of La Maddalena, Sardinia, Italy. Key papers from the more than 100 contributions (papers and posters) received from 20 countries across five continents are presented here.

The book commences by addressing the general questions on invasion biology, i.e. what are the crucial issues that favour invasions and how can the impacts of these invasions be predicted. The bulk of the book contains case studies on the ecology of single invasive plant species. These include Mimosa quadrivalvis in Malaysia, Mimosa pigra in Sri Lanka, Robinia pseudoacacia, Amorpha fruticosa and Papaver spp. in Italy, Solidago gigantea in Hungary, Mycelis muralis and Gunnera tinctoria in Ireland, Gleditsia triacanthos in Agrentina, Paspalum vaginatum in Sardinia, Rudbeckia laciniata and Bidens frondosa in the Czech Republic, Acer negundo in Poland, Oenothera spp. in USA and the Czech Republic, Carpobrotus spp. on Mediterranean islands, Impatiens glandulifera in the United Kingdom and Opuntia spp. in Spain. These are followed by case studies of invasive plants in protected areas in Hungary and the USA and invasions of selected habitats, biotopes and regions. The book concludes with five case studies on the management of invasive plants including Reynoutria, Fallopia japonica, Lepidium latifolium and Eucalyupts resinifera.

Plant invasions have a global perspective as is evidenced by the increasing amount of literature on this topic at all levels. The main indicator is, of course, the presence of world-wide invasion processes that are clearly active and being monitored in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Plant invasions cause severe ecological damage and economic loss across the globe and control programs are often difficult to implement and are costly both in terms of time and money.

While plant invasions in Australia do not feature in this book, it does provide another perspective on plant invasions, in the invasions of landscapes that have been modified by man over thousands of years, not the several hundred years we have been impacting on the Australian landscape.