The PlantRight PRE: A New Screening

Process for InvasivenessChristiana Conser

Project ScientistPlantRight, Sustainable Conservation

Invasive Ornamental Plant SymposiumChicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL

October 3, 2013

Economic impact of nursery and landscape industrySource: CANGC 2010

CA’s Top 20 Commodies (sales and rank values (2002-2008)

CA Nursery & Floral Sales (Total and as a % of Total Ag Sales)

Bradley et al. 2011

Global Trade

Drivers of New Plant Introductions

Regional • New housing starts• Consumer demand• Interest in novel and exotic

plants• Increased demand for

xeriscaping• Water restrictions• Adaptations to climate change

scenarios

Technological • Advances in plant breeding

and propagation

Rate of new plant introductionsNumber of commercially available cultivars (1987 to 2008)

Drew et al. 2010

20,000

105,000

48%37%

13% Horticultural/ornamental

Seed/other contaminant

Dye, medicinal, forage

Aquarium trade

2%

Bell 2007

Historical Invasive Plant Pathways for California% of Total Invasive Plants Accidentally or Intentionally Introduced to California

A plant that does not naturally occur in a specific region but whose introduction causes or is likely to cause harm to the environment, economy or to human health.

Photo | California Invasive Plant Council, Beth Hendrickson

What is an Invasive Plant?

What is not an Invasive Plant?

Garden weedsNon-native ornamental plants

• Abundant flowers

• Easy to propagate

• Grows quickly

• Weather/soil tolerant

• Resistant to pests and disease

• Broad germination

• Establish rapidly

• Use up limited resources

• Weather/soil tolerant

• Resistant to pests and disease

Ornamental Traits

Invasive Traits

Photo | UC Davis ArboretumPhoto | California Invasive Plant Council, Beth Hendrickson

Comparison of Invasive and Ornamental Traits

Weed Risk Assessment

Pheloung et al. 1999

• 49 Questions• Biogeography/Historical

• Domestication/Cultivation• Climate and Distribution• Weed Elsewhere

• Biology/Ecology• Undesirable Traits• Plant Type• Reproduction• Dispersal Mechanisms• Persistence Attributes

• Used in Australia & other parts of the world

Photo | AQIS

Australian WRA

Comparison of global WRA model accuracy

Austra

lia

Hawai

i

Czech

Rep

ublic

Japa

n

Vario

us

Flor

ida

Spai

nIta

ly0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Invasive PlantsNon-Invasive Plants

All WRA’s have low accuracy for non-invasive plants

Weed Risk Assessment

• Revised Q37 (NAPPRA-Not allow pending risk assessment)

• All nursery stock requires a pre-import risk analysis

• Evaluate the ability of a species to spread outside cultivation

• APHIS WRA modeled from Australia’s WRA

• Impact on imports for nursery industry unknown

USDA-APHIS-PPQ

Koop et al. 2011

Weed Risk Assessment

• High accuracy for non-invasive plants• Predict regional invasiveness• Screen sterile and non-sterile cultivars• Screen plants early in the R&D process• Rapid screenings, quick results• Provide real-time risk assessment for

invasiveness• Updated with new information as it

becomes available

WRA adapted for screening ornamental plants

PlantRight Plant Risk Evaluation (PRE)

Photo | UC Davis Arboretum

• Taxonomy• Cultivar names• Invasive history in CA, US,

world• Climate suitability for CA• Difficulty of control• Negative environmental

impacts• Reproductive strategies• Dispersal • Growth rate

Types of screening questions

Photo | UC Davis Arboretum

PlantRight Plant Risk Evaluation (PRE)

Screening Procedure & Data Collection

Protocol adapted from Gordon et al. 2010

PlantRight Plant Risk Evaluation (PRE)

PlantRight PRE Scoring

Invasive>19Non-invasive<14Evaluate Further=15-18

PlantRight Plant Risk Evaluation (PRE)

PlantRight PRE

Australian WRA

PlantRight PRE

Australian WRA

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Evaluator 1Evaluator 2Evaluator 3

Non-Invasive Invasive PlantRight PRE had high accuracy for non-invasive plants

PlantRight Plant Risk Evaluation (PRE)Comparison with Australian WRA model

Austra

lia

Hawaii

Czech

Rep

ublic

Japa

n

Various

Flor

ida

Spain

Italy

Califo

rnia (A

U-WRA)

Califo

rnia (P

R-PRE)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Invasive Plants

Non-Invasive Plants

PlantRight PRE has highest accuracy for non-invasive plants

Comparison with other WRA modelsPlantRight Plant Risk Evaluation (PRE)

Protocol adapted from Gordon et al. 2010

PRE (Plant Risk Evaluation) TOOL

Invasive>19Non-invasive<14Evaluate Further=15-18

PRE (Plant Risk Evaluation) TOOL

• Taxonomy• Cultivar names• Invasive history• Climate suitability• Difficulty of control• Negative

environmental impacts• Reproductive

strategies• Dispersal • Growth rate

PRE (Plant Risk Evaluation) TOOL

OPPORTUNITIES | BENEFICIAL INFO

Current taxonomy and synonyms

Ornamental and cultivation history, medicinal uses, etc.

Native range and regional climatic suitability information

OPPORTUNITIES | BENEFICIAL INFO

Growth, reproduction and dispersal characteristics

Ecological information re: garden suitability

Patent information

+

Add Climate Modeling To Evaluate the Regional Suitability of Plants

PlantRight Plant Risk Evaluation (PRE)

Develop a Web-Based Tool and Database

MS-Excel Web-accessible database

Plant Breeders

Arboreta

Botanical Gardens

Retail Nurseries

Plant Buyers

Propagators

Growers

Plant Prospectors

PlantRight PRE

PlantRight Plant Risk Evaluation (PRE)

Develop Rapid Screening (RS) ToolScreen most common plants in

ornamental tradeWater Use Classification of

Ornamental Landscape Species (WUCOLS)

PlantRight Pre-PRE rapid screening tool

PlantRight Plant Risk Evaluation (PRE)

Christiana ConserPlantRight Project ScientistSustainable Conservation

cconser@ucdavis.edu

www.PlantRight.org