A Review of Best Management Practices for the Control of Invasive <i>Prosopis</i> Trees

Abstract

The management of Prosopis trees should aim to prevent introduction, remove sparse infestations, prevent spread once the trees have become established in an area, or control locally and mitigate impacts in densely invaded areas. Several methods for management of Prosopis trees on the local or landscape scale exist, including mechanical, chemical and biological options, which can be combined into sustainable land management practices. Each of these practices has particular and often context-dependent advantages and disadvantages, which need to be considered when planning management interventions. This chapter presents an overview of the methods used to manage Prosopis trees and provides criteria for the selection of the most suitable combination of methods into context-specific sustainable land management practices. Historical management efforts have not been successful in lastingly extirpating Prosopis trees, and reestablishment has happened at many control sites in eastern Africa, but also in other parts of the world including South Africa and Australia. Some of the reasons for the lack of success include failure of private landowners to continue managing the species after government support ended, and conflicts between landowners and government. Moreover, none of the described control options will be successful in isolation and combinations of methods should be employed as part of sustainable Prosopis management strategies for invaded landscapes that are codeveloped with relevant stakeholders. The needs of people reliant on Prosopis trees for their livelihoods should be considered during the transition from invasion to more productive landscapes where tree density has been brought down to a tolerable level in the landscape. We strongly recommend including the use of classical biological control against invasive Prosopis trees as part of the management in eastern Africa.