A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPING SUCCESSIONAL WEED MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ON RANGELAND

Sustainable rangeland management will require successional strategies to deal with the expanding weed problem. These strategies must be cons istent with the view that plant communities are dynamic and technology is used to enhance the natural processes and mechanisms that direct v egetation change. The goal is to shift the dynamics toward a desired p lant community. A unified conceptual model is necessary to direct the development and application of successional weed management systems. W e propose using a resource management model as a conceptual basis for successional weed management. This model is based on the primary cause s of succession: site availability, differential species availability, and differential species performance. This model provides the mechani stic framework necessary for developing successional weed management s ystems and it is meant to enhance communication among rangeland weed m anagers and scientists.