A global perspective on current changes in horticulture

My new office mate found an interesting paper today, about current dynamics in the global horticultural industry that may well have implications for invasives:
Review
Structural change in the international horticultural industry: Some implications for plant health
K. Dehnen-Schmutza, O. Holdenriederb, M. J. Jegerc and M. Pautassoc
Scientia Horticulturae Volume 125, Issue 1, 31 May 2010, Pages 1-15
doi:10.1016/j.scienta.2010.02.017

Short notice - talk on in half an hour!

Public Seminar – Entomology Lecture Theatre Room, Level 2, Bldg 101 Clunies Ross Street, Black Mountain.


Thursday 22nd July 3.00 pm

Speaker: Dr Jean-Baptiste Pichancourt, CSIRO Entomology (based in Brisbane)

Title: ‘Jack-and-Master’ species: when adaptive phenotypic plasticity maximizes geographic ranges and their transformations.

Abstract: Theories suggest that phenotypic plasticity may play an important role in invasiveness and in shaping species distributions and their transformations at large scales.

Here we confirm expectations on the invasive plant Parkinsonia aculeata, using a long-term, continental-scale field study across various climatic and habitat gradients.

Furthermore, we show that the trait of phenotypic plasticity is itself under natural selection thereby providing further flexibility in range expansions or shifts.

Climate change and weed pests in South Australia

This article and also this article (the latter giving a bit more detail) highlights work done here at CSIRO by Darren Kriticos (my boss!).  He has modelled the effects of climate change on invasive plants in South Australia and identified significant shifts in distribution that may occur .

Invasive Species: News and Events - Conferences and Workshops: Conference Calendar

Invasive Species: News and Events - Conferences and Workshops: Conference Calendar

Invasive Species Council

Invasive Species Council
Some interesting stuff on here about 'tackling some of Australia's toughest environmental threats'

July review for F1000

Facilitation cascade drives positive relationship between native biodiversity and invasion success. Altieri AH, van Wesenbeeck BK, Bertness MD, Silliman BR Ecology 2010 May 91(5):1269-75

Our Review 
Mark Lonsdale: Faculty of 1000 Biology, 5 July 2010 
http://f1000biology.com/article/id/3815957/evaluation
Copyright F1000  

This article is interesting because it provides plot-scale support for the role of native species in facilitating invasions that helps explain the positive relationship between native species diversity and invasibility typically seen at the landscape scale.