Action

Control invasive plants

How is the evidence assessed?
  • Effectiveness
    60%
  • Certainty
    47%
  • Harms
    0%

Study locations

Key messages

  • One before-and-after study in the UK found that aquatic and terrestrial habitat management that included controlling swamp stonecrop, along with release of captive-reared toadlets, tripled a population of natterjack toads.
  • One replicated, controlled study in the USA found that Oregon spotted frogs laid eggs in areas where invasive reed canarygrass had been mown more frequently than where it was not mown.

 

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

  1. A before-and-after study in 1972–1991 of ponds on heathland in Hampshire, England, UK (Banks, Beebee & Denton 1993) found that pond restoration and creation with swamp stonecrop Crassula helmsii control, vegetation clearance, liming and captive-rearing and releasing toadlets resulted in a three-fold increase in natterjack toad Bufo calamita populations. Spawn string counts, which relate to the female breeding population, increased from 15 to 43. Swamp stonecrop was eliminated from two of six new ponds it invaded and controlled in two others. Nine small ponds (< 1,000 m2) were created and four restored by excavation. Swamp stonecrop was pulled up and treated with herbicide. In addition, one pond was treated with limestone (1983–1989), scrub was cleared by cutting and uprooting (40 ha) and bracken was treated with herbicide (12 ha). Captive-reared toadlets were released in 1975 (8,800), 1979, 1980 and 1981 (1,000 each). Each year, toads were monitored every 10 days in March and August.

    Study and other actions tested
  2. A replicated, controlled study in 2000–2001 of a wetland in Washington, USA (Kapust, Mcallister & Hayes 2012) found that Oregon spotted frogs Rana pretiosa laid eggs in more plots than expected by chance following mowing of invasive reed canarygrass Phalaris arundinacea. No eggs were laid in unmown plots. Egg mass clusters (1–18 egg masses) were recorded in two of 32 mown plots. Three egg mass clusters (5–20 masses) were also recorded outside study plots in habitat that appeared structurally similar to mown plots. Breeding sites were located using systematic searches within the reed canarygrass dominated wetland. Four of seven sites found were selected and used as the centre of a 30 m diameter circle. Within each circle, eight pairs of randomly located 3 m diameter plots were created. One of each pair was mown close to the ground in August 2000. Breeding was monitored in February–March 2001 using visual encounter surveys.

    Study and other actions tested
Please cite as:

Smith, R.K., Meredith, H. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Amphibian Conservation. Pages 9-64 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

Amphibian Conservation

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Amphibian Conservation
What Works 2021 cover

What Works in Conservation

What Works in Conservation provides expert assessments of the effectiveness of actions, based on summarised evidence, in synopses. Subjects covered so far include amphibians, birds, mammals, forests, peatland and control of freshwater invasive species. More are in progress.

More about What Works in Conservation

Download free PDF or purchase
The Conservation Evidence Journal

The Conservation Evidence Journal

An online, free to publish in, open-access journal publishing results from research and projects that test the effectiveness of conservation actions.

Read the latest volume: Volume 21

Go to the CE Journal

Discover more on our blog

Our blog contains the latest news and updates from the Conservation Evidence team, the Conservation Evidence Journal, and our global partners in evidence-based conservation.


Who uses Conservation Evidence?

Meet some of the evidence champions

Endangered Landscape ProgrammeRed List Champion - Arc Kent Wildlife Trust The Rufford Foundation Save the Frogs - Ghana Mauritian Wildlife Supporting Conservation Leaders
Sustainability Dashboard National Biodiversity Network Frog Life The international journey of Conservation - Oryx Cool Farm Alliance UNEP AWFA Bat Conservation InternationalPeople trust for endangered species Vincet Wildlife Trust