Asparagus weeds research and management in South Australia

摘要

The South African Asparagus asparagoides (L.) W. Wight (bridal creeper) attracts considerable attention as an environmental weed across southern Australia. The closely related species A. declinatus L. (bridal veil) and A. scandens Thunb. (climbing asparagus) are increasingly being recognised as potentially as important as A. asparagoides. Asparagus declinatus, while considered at a minor stage of invasion, has been a growing concern for land managers in Kangaroo Island and the southern Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. Initial management efforts focused on the control of A. asparagoides with only ad hoc responses to the presence of A. declinatus and A. scandens. To improve management responses, the Asparagus Weeds Steering Committee was established in 1999, with a particular focus on addressing the concerns of A. declinatus across the southern Fleurieu Peninsula. Just over five years on, this paper considers the management approaches undertaken in South Australia and some of the emerging challenges and lessons being learnt which are of wider interest to weed management.