Efforts to control Lygodium microphyllum in Florida and developments in biology and management

Lygodium microphyllum , Old-world climbing fern, invades remote and intact natural areas of marsh, wetlands, and swamps within Florida’s Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Despite extensive efforts, L. microphyllum continues to evade control throughout its introduced range. Old-world climbing fern was introduced to Florida through the ornamental horticulture trade in the early 20th century. In the late 1960s, land managers called attention to its escape from cultivation and its rapid establishment and expansion into natural conservation areas. During the next decades, Old-world climbing fern expanded its range into remote parts of Everglades National Park Wilderness and into areas north of Jacksonville, Florida. This tropical climbing fern smothers native vegetation, alters carbon cycles and fire regimes, and spreads through airborne, self-compatible spores. Treatment using physical removal methods is damaging and labor intensive, chemicals translocate poorly, and thus far, biological control has not effectively limited the spread of this species. All these methods though, continue to be refined and integrated through extensive collaboration with researchers and land managers. Herein we describe the current state of the research programs aimed at finding effective and sustainable control for this invasive plant, and those elucidating the biological and ecological mechanisms behind its invasion.