Fire and Invasive Plant Species

This chapter explores the relationship between fire and invasive species in California from three different perspectives: the general interrelationships between fire and invasive plants, specific examples from within or near California, and the use of fire as a management tool to control non-native species. It also describes what an invasive species is and determines the species that are thought or known to present the greatest threats to conservation in California. A particularly important aspect in using fire to manage invasive species is that environmental variability and factors interacting with fire can have more important effects on both non-native and native species than fire alone. Management programs and ecological studies must accept that those invasive species now established as a dominant component of an ecosystem will be difficult to control, or even less likely, to eradicate.