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Series

2021

Ecology

Weed Science

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

How Weeds Affect Insects In Mango Cultivation Of South Florida, Blaire Kleiman Jul 2021

How Weeds Affect Insects In Mango Cultivation Of South Florida, Blaire Kleiman

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The use of weeds as insectary plants is an emerging management tactic by agroecologists and entomologists to sustain beneficial insect species. Fallow lands have always been used by insects and are an important part of their diet in fragmented ecosystems. Weeds provide floral resources to beneficial insects such as pollinators, parasitoids, and predators and resources to keep them within a field in between crop flowering. Using weeds as a tool in tropical fruit production reliant on pollination like Mango (Mangifera indica) allows farmers to reduce herbicide use, increases the biodiversity of both plants and insects, and increases pollination of crops …


Invasion Ecology And Response To Fire Of The Nonnative Fern Lygodium Microphyllum In The South Florida Everglades, Nicole Sebesta Apr 2021

Invasion Ecology And Response To Fire Of The Nonnative Fern Lygodium Microphyllum In The South Florida Everglades, Nicole Sebesta

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lygodium microphyllum (Old World Climbing Fern (OWCF)) is a climbing fern native to tropical and subtropical regions of Australia, Asia, and Africa. First introduced to Florida as an ornamental in the 1960s, the fern has become a serious invasive in numerous Florida habitats, severely degrading native herbaceous and woody vegetation and altering fire behavior. One area with the greatest increase in OWCF cover is the sawgrass marsh of southern Everglades National Park (ENP), where prescribed fire is used for both maintenance of sawgrass marshes and management of OWCF infestations. However, the efficacy of OWCF control using fire in this habitat …