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

摘要目前，外来入侵物种的全球环境问题引起了人们的极大兴趣。一系列科学学科和一系列地方、州和联邦资源管理机构都对入侵植物的生态和管理表示担忧。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。此前，科学家和资源管理人员几乎没有动力或机会超越其特定学科和培训的界限进行交流。现在，随着科学研究和管理活动的显著升级，现在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好时机。为了满足这种交流和合作的需要，许多科学协会、非政府组织、学术机构和联邦机构正在合作举办一次重要的会议，即自然和管理系统中的入侵植物：联系科学和管理，该会议将与第七届国际外来植物入侵生态和管理会议同时举行。这次会议定于2003年11月3日至7日在佛罗里达州的劳德代尔堡举行，将具有地区、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。这是第一次有明确目标的如此大规模的会议，目的是弥合科学与管理之间的差距，创造性地解决外来入侵物种造成的环境危机。尽管这个问题的范围和根源是全球性的，但负面影响也是严重的局部影响，给世界各地的资源管理者带来了挑战。科学家想要了解这一过程；管理者需要阻止它。他们负责保护当地生态系统或管理可收获的产品，而入侵过程加剧了这些努力。这次会议在提高公众对入侵生物学领域的认识和科学发展方面尤其及时。会议的三个主要目标是：1)促进在管理和自然生态系统中从事有害入侵植物研究的研究人员之间的跨学科科学信息交流。2)加强科学家和资源管理者之间的对话，目的是确定研究差距，并加速实施新的入侵植物管理科学。3)促进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没有达到目前正在规划的会议的广度和深度。总体而言，以前的会议在科学、地理或目标受众方面的范围有限。它们都没有明确或明显的目标，即成为一次国家/国际会议，以整合多个科学学科或加强科学家和资源管理人员之间的对话。

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.