Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management, Oregon State University, 450 North Buena Vista Avenue, Burns, OR 97720, USA.
Environ Manage. 2011 Sep;48(3):400-17. doi: 10.1007/s00267-011-9703-7. Epub 2011 Jun 26.
Medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae (L.) Nevski) is an exotic annual grass invading rangelands in the western United States. Medusahead is a serious management concern because it decreases biodiversity, reduces livestock forage production, and degrades the ecological function of rangelands. Despite the obvious importance of ranchers as partners in preventing and managing medusahead in rangelands, little is known about their perceptions and behaviors concerning medusahead management. We present the results of a survey of ranchers operating on sagebrush steppe rangeland in a three-county area in southeast Oregon encompassing over 7.2 million ha. The primary objective of this research was to determine if the presence of medusahead on a ranch influenced its operator's perceptions and behaviors concerning invasive plant control and prevention. Ranchers operating on medusahead-infested rangeland were more likely to indicate increased awareness and concern about medusahead and the potential for its continued expansion. Ranchers operating on rangeland invaded by medusahead were also more likely to indicate use of measures to prevent the spread of medusahead and other invasive plants on rangeland, interest in educational opportunities concerning invasive annual grass management, and plans for controlling invasive annual grasses in the future. This study revealed an alarming trend in which individuals are less likely to implement important prevention measures and participate in education opportunities to improve their knowledge of invasive plants until they directly experience the negative consequences of invasion. Information campaigns on invasive plants and their impacts may rectify this problem; however, appropriate delivery methods are critical for success. Web- or computer-based invasive plant information and tools were largely unpopular among ranchers, whereas traditional forms of information delivery including brochures/pamphlets and face-to-face interaction were preferred. However, in the future web- or computer-based information may become more popular as ranchers become more familiar with them.
头状穗莎草（Taeniatherum caput-medusae（L.）Nevski）是一种入侵美国西部草原的外来一年生草本植物。头状穗莎草是一个严重的管理问题，因为它降低了生物多样性，减少了牲畜饲料的产量，并降低了草原的生态功能。尽管牧场主作为防止和管理草原上头状穗莎草的合作伙伴非常重要，但人们对他们对头状穗莎草管理的看法和行为知之甚少。我们展示了对俄勒冈州东南部三个县的草原上经营的牧场主进行的一项调查的结果，该地区覆盖了超过 720 万公顷的土地。这项研究的主要目的是确定牧场主在经营头状穗莎草的草原上，头状穗莎草的存在是否影响了他们对头状穗莎草的控制和预防的看法和行为。在头状穗莎草出没的草原上经营的牧场主更有可能表示对头状穗莎草及其继续扩张的潜在可能性的认识和关注有所增加。在头状穗莎草入侵的草原上经营的牧场主也更有可能表示会采取措施防止头状穗莎草和其他入侵植物在草原上传播，对有关入侵性一年生草本植物管理的教育机会感兴趣，并计划将来控制入侵性一年生草本植物。这项研究揭示了一个令人震惊的趋势，即人们不太可能在直接经历入侵的负面影响之前，采取重要的预防措施并参与有关入侵植物的教育机会，以提高他们对入侵植物的认识。有关入侵植物及其影响的宣传活动可能会纠正这一问题；然而，适当的交付方法对于成功至关重要。牧场主对手册/小册子和面对面互动等传统形式的信息传递方式更喜欢，而对基于网络或计算机的入侵植物信息和工具的接受度不高。然而，随着牧场主越来越熟悉这些信息，将来基于网络或计算机的信息可能会变得更受欢迎。
