Guidance for addressing the Australian Weed Risk Assessment questions

Doria R. GordonA, Belinda MitterdorferB, Paul C. PheloungC, Shahin AnsariD, Chris BuddenhagenD, Chuck ChimeraE, Curt C. DaehlerF, Wayne DawsonG, Julie S. DenslowH, AnneMarie LaRosaH, Tomoko NishidaI, Daphne A. OnderdonkJ, F. Dane PanettaK, Petr PyekL, Roderick P. RandallM, David M. RichardsonN, Ntakadzeni J. TshidadaO, John G. VirtueP and Peter A. WilliamsQ


A The Nature Conservancy and Department of Biology, PO Box 118526, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.

B Biosecurity Australia, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry,GPO Box 858, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

C Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, GPO Box 858, Canberra, ACT 2601 Australia.

D SWCA Environmental Consultants, 201 Merchant St., Suite 1638, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA.

E Hawaii Invasive Species Council - Maui Office, P.O. Box 983, Makawao, H 96768, USA.

F Department of Botany, 3190 Maile Way, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822. USA.

G Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland.

H Institute of Pacific Island Forestry, USDA Forest Service, 60 Nowelo St, Hilo, HI 96720, USA.

I Biodiversity Division, National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, 3-1-3 Kannondai Tsukuba Ibaraki 305-8604, Japan.

J Department of Biology, PO Box 118526, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.

K Biosecurity Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, Alan Fletcher Research Station, PO Box 36, Sherwood, Q 4075, Australia.

L Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, CZ 25243 Prhonice, Czech Republic, and Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University Prague, Vininá 7, CZ 12801 Praha 2, Czech Republic.

M Department of Agriculture and Food, Locked Bag 4, Bentley Delivery Centre, WA 6983 Australia.

N Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa.

O Department of Agriculture, Directorate: Plant Health, Private Bag x14, Gezina 0031 South Africa.

P Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation, GPO Box 2834, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.

Q Landcare Research, Private Bag 6, Nelson, New Zealand.



Summary

This paper provides guidance on how to address the 49 questions of the Australian Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) system. The WRA was developed in Australia in 1999, and has since been widely adapted for different regions. As interest in implementation and results comparison has increased, the issue of consistency in answering and scoring the questions has become important. As a result, this guidance was developed during the 2007 International WRA Workshop. Suggestions on search methods, data sources and examples are also provided.


Keywords: Invasive, prevention, weed risk assessment.

 

Plant Protection Quarterly (2010) 25 (2) 56-74.