Management inputs, site conditions, and fire history shape outcomes of invasive plant control and native recovery

Millions of dollars and countless hours are spent on invasive plant management, and the field of invasion ecology has gained increasing attention in recent decades. Yet, despite these efforts to control and understand plant invasions, successful management is often elusive. Budgetary constraints are a common factor limiting invasive plant management programs, and therefore, optimizing control strategies are essential. However, such optimization requires data on management inputs and outcomes, and these data are often missing, lacking, or underutilized. To address this knowledge gap and identify predictors of successful weed control in natural areas, we examined nearly 20 years of invasive plant treatment data in the world’s largest urban national park – Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area of southern California. We resurveyed 279 sites that had undergone control in the past two decades, collecting data on the abundance of native and invasive plant species to evaluate long-te..., , # Data from: Management inputs, site conditions, and fire history shape outcomes of invasive plant control and native recovery

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.fj6q5747x](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.fj6q5747x)

## Description of the data and file structure

This dataset contains site-level monitoring data for multiple invasive plant species managed within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA). Each row represents a single site or infestation polygon with associated measurements of infestation size, percent cover, target species identity, slope, elevation, fire history, and treatment outcomes.

The dataset supports analyses of:

* invasive species abundance and change through time
* site conditions associated with invasion severity
* treatment effectiveness
* environmental drivers (topography, fire regime, vegetation type)

Data were compiled from field observations, GIS analyses, and land-management records.
### Files and variables

#### File: EAP24-0881_data.csv

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