Biological control of invasive plants was arguably the first research-based activity
focused on biological invasions (Moran et al. 2013). In 1973, the biological control
research community held its inaugural meeting that ultimately was to be repeated
annually, and is ongoing. It has recently broadened to encompass all aspects of
biological invasions (Moran et al. 2013; Wilson et al. 2017). The biological control
research community has also, since 1991, produced a succession of comprehensive
reviews, at roughly 10-year intervals, of South African biological control projects
against individual invasive plant species or taxa (Hoffmann 1991; Olckers and
Hill 1999; Moran et al. 2011). The 2011 review included a catalogue of all species
considered, and papers on regulations and risk assessment, on mapping, and on cost:
benefit analyses.
Research on biological invasions gained momentum in the 1980s when South
Africa participated in the international SCOPE programme on biological invasions.
South Africa’s contribution to the SCOPE project (Macdonald et al. 1986) was also
the first comprehensive review of the field at a national level, and it included
historical aspects, accounts of invasion in terrestrial biomes and offshore islands,
current ecological understanding, impacts, and management. The SCOPE project on
biological invasions concluded with a global synthesis in 1989 (Drake et al. 1989), in
which South African authors provided chapters on invasive plant pathogens, aquatic
plants, Mediterranean-climate regions, and protected areas.
In 1998, the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) was
established at Pretoria University. Research at FABI, inter alia, considers the
pathogens and pests associated with native trees and woody hosts, many of which
are invasive. The achievements of FABI are summarised in Steenkamp and
Wingfield (2013), and Wingfield (2018).
In 2003, the Working for Water programme convened an interdisciplinary meeting to address the ecology, economics, management and social impacts of biological
invasions (Macdonald 2004). Papers describing these topics were subsequently
published in a special issue of a local journal (van Wilgen 2004), and the meeting
provided one of the first opportunities for researchers from varied backgrounds
(including ecology, economics, engineering, hydrology and social sciences) to
collectively consider the issue of biological invasions.
In 2004, the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology (CÁIÁB) was
launched. This initiative provided access to significant funding for research into all
aspects of biological invasions at a national scale (van Wilgen et al. 2014), and
participants in the Centre’s programmes have subsequently made substantial inputs
into the field in South Africa and beyond (Richardson et al. 2020a, Chap. 30). For
example, in 2008 the Centre convened an international conference to review the field
of invasion ecology, held in Stellenbosch, South Africa (Richardson 2011). The
conference marked the 50th anniversary of the publication of Charles Elton’s
seminal book on the ecology of invasions (Elton 1958). As noted in the foreword
to the book produced out of the proceedings, the meeting stood out “as a guidepost
and a significant turning point for an entire field” (Mooney 2011). In 2008, the
Centre’s researchers also produced a special issue of a local journal that reviewed
riparian vegetation management in landscapes invaded by alien plants in
South Africa (Esler et al. 2008).
18
B. W. van Wilgen et al.
focused on biological invasions (Moran et al. 2013). In 1973, the biological control
research community held its inaugural meeting that ultimately was to be repeated
annually, and is ongoing. It has recently broadened to encompass all aspects of
biological invasions (Moran et al. 2013; Wilson et al. 2017). The biological control
research community has also, since 1991, produced a succession of comprehensive
reviews, at roughly 10-year intervals, of South African biological control projects
against individual invasive plant species or taxa (Hoffmann 1991; Olckers and
Hill 1999; Moran et al. 2011). The 2011 review included a catalogue of all species
considered, and papers on regulations and risk assessment, on mapping, and on cost:
benefit analyses.
Research on biological invasions gained momentum in the 1980s when South
Africa participated in the international SCOPE programme on biological invasions.
South Africa’s contribution to the SCOPE project (Macdonald et al. 1986) was also
the first comprehensive review of the field at a national level, and it included
historical aspects, accounts of invasion in terrestrial biomes and offshore islands,
current ecological understanding, impacts, and management. The SCOPE project on
biological invasions concluded with a global synthesis in 1989 (Drake et al. 1989), in
which South African authors provided chapters on invasive plant pathogens, aquatic
plants, Mediterranean-climate regions, and protected areas.
In 1998, the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) was
established at Pretoria University. Research at FABI, inter alia, considers the
pathogens and pests associated with native trees and woody hosts, many of which
are invasive. The achievements of FABI are summarised in Steenkamp and
Wingfield (2013), and Wingfield (2018).
In 2003, the Working for Water programme convened an interdisciplinary meeting to address the ecology, economics, management and social impacts of biological
invasions (Macdonald 2004). Papers describing these topics were subsequently
published in a special issue of a local journal (van Wilgen 2004), and the meeting
provided one of the first opportunities for researchers from varied backgrounds
(including ecology, economics, engineering, hydrology and social sciences) to
collectively consider the issue of biological invasions.
In 2004, the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology (CÁIÁB) was
launched. This initiative provided access to significant funding for research into all
aspects of biological invasions at a national scale (van Wilgen et al. 2014), and
participants in the Centre’s programmes have subsequently made substantial inputs
into the field in South Africa and beyond (Richardson et al. 2020a, Chap. 30). For
example, in 2008 the Centre convened an international conference to review the field
of invasion ecology, held in Stellenbosch, South Africa (Richardson 2011). The
conference marked the 50th anniversary of the publication of Charles Elton’s
seminal book on the ecology of invasions (Elton 1958). As noted in the foreword
to the book produced out of the proceedings, the meeting stood out “as a guidepost
and a significant turning point for an entire field” (Mooney 2011). In 2008, the
Centre’s researchers also produced a special issue of a local journal that reviewed
riparian vegetation management in landscapes invaded by alien plants in
South Africa (Esler et al. 2008).
18
B. W. van Wilgen et al.