Conference on Invasive Plants in Natural and Managed Systems: Linking Science and Management and 7th International Conference on Ecology and Management of Alien Plant Invasions

摘要外来入侵物种的全球环境问题引起了广泛的关注。许多科学学科和地方、州和联邦资源管理机构都对入侵植物的生态和管理表示关注。在过去的十年里，人们对入侵植物问题的兴趣一直在稳步增长，但直到最近三年，自13112号行政命令签署以来，这个问题才得到了公众的广泛认可和政府的关注。以前，科学家和资源管理人员几乎没有动力或机会在他们的特定学科和培训的边界之外进行交流。现在，随着科学探究和管理活动的显著升级，这是促进科学学科之间以及科学家和资源管理者之间广泛合作的时机。为了解决这种沟通和合作的需要，一些科学学会、非政府组织、学术机构和联邦机构正在合作举办一个大型会议，“自然和管理系统中的入侵植物：连接科学和管理”，将与第七届外来植物入侵生态学和管理国际会议一起举行。定于2003年11月3日至7日在佛罗里达州劳德代尔堡举行的这次会议将具有区域、国家和国际意义。该奖项由美国国家科学基金会国际科学与工程办公室共同资助。这是第一次如此规模的会议，其具体目标是弥合科学与管理之间的差距，以创造性地解决外来入侵物种造成的环境危机。尽管这个问题在范围和根源上都是全球性的，但其负面影响也是地方性的，给各地的资源管理者带来了挑战。科学家们想要了解这个过程；管理者需要阻止这种情况。他们肩负着保护当地生态系统或管理可收获产品的责任，而入侵过程加剧了这些努力。在公众认识和入侵生物学领域的科学发展方面，这次会议特别及时。会议的三个主要目标是：1)促进研究管理生态系统和自然生态系统中有害入侵植物的研究人员之间的跨学科科学信息交流。2)加强科学家与资源管理者之间的对话，以确定研究差距，加快实施入侵植物管理的新科学。3)促进在入侵植物科学和管理方面的广泛合作。据我们所知，以前关于入侵生物学的会议都没有达到这次会议的广度和深度。总的来说，以前的会议在科学、地理或目标听众的范围上是有限的。没有一个会议有明确的或明显的目标是成为一个国家/国际会议，以整合多个科学学科或加强科学家与资源管理者之间的对话。

ABSTRACTThere is substantial current interest in the global environmental problem of invasive non-native species. Concerns about the ecology and management of invasive plants are shared by an array of scientific disciplines and a spectrum of local, state, and federal resource management agencies. Interest in invasive plant problems has been growing steadily over the past decade, but only in the past three years, since the signing of Executive Order 13112, has the problem received broad public recognition and government attention. Previously, there has been little impetus or opportunity for scientists and resource managers to communicate beyond the boundaries of their specific disciplines and training. Now, with significant escalation in both scientific inquiry and management activity occurring, it is an opportune time to foster broad collaborations betweenscientific disciplines and between scientists and resource managers. To address this need for communication and collaboration, a number of scientific societies, non- governmental organizations, academic institutions, and federal agencies are collaborating on a major conference, Invasive Plants in Natural and Managed Systems: Linking Science and Management, to be held in conjunction with the 7 th International Conference on the Ecology and Management of Alien Plant Invasions. This Conference, which is scheduled for November 3-7, 2003, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will have regional, national and international significance. This award is co-funded by NSF's Office of International Science and Engineering. It is the first conference of such magnitude to have a specific goal of bridging the science-management gap to creatively address the environmental crisis caused by invasive exotic species. Even as the problem is global in scope and origin, so are the negative impacts acutely local, presenting challenges to resource managers everywhere. Scientists want to understand the process; managers need to stop it. They are charged with conserving native ecosystems or managing for a harvestable product and the invasion process exacerbates these efforts. The Conference is particularly timely with respect to both public awareness and scientific development of the field of invasion biology. The three primary goals of the Conference are:1) To promote interdisciplinary exchange of scientific information among researchers working with harmful invasive plants in both managed and natural ecosystems.2) To enhance dialogue between scientists and resource managers for the purpose of identifying research gaps and of accelerating implementation of new science for the management of invasive plants.3) To foster broad cooperation on the science and management of invasive plants.To our knowledge previous meetings on invasion biology have not approached the breadth or depth of the conference that is now being planned. By and large, earlier meetings were limited in their scope of science, geography or target audience. None have had the stated or apparent objective of being a national/international meeting to integrate multiple scientific disciplines or enhance dialogue between scientists and resource managers.