Integrating local knowledge and research to refine the management of an invasive non-native grass in critically endangered grassy woodlands

1. Globally the prevalence and impact of invasive non-native plant species is increasing rapidly. Experimentally-based research aimed at supporting management is limited in its ability to keep up with this pace, partly because of the importance of understanding historical abiotic and biotic conditions. Contrastingly, landholders are in unique positions to witness species turnover in grasslands, adapt management practices in response, and learn from successes and failures. 2. This local knowledge could be crucial for identifying feasible solutions to land degradation, and ecological restoration, but local knowledge is rarely explicitly embedded in ecological research. 3. In this study, we use a sequential exploratory strategy where we first interview (semi-directive approach) 15 landholders within the Bega region of New South Wales, Australia concerning the changing ecological characteristics of both extensively and intensively managed grassy woodlands and perceived impacts following a...