An invasive plant species is one that is non-native to the ecosystem being condidered and one whose introduction will probably cause harm to the ecosystem or to the health of people. They spread from populated settings to the wilderness where they reproduce continuously, crowding out the native species and reducing biodiversity. A few other names for invasive plants that you might have heard are: Weed, colonizer, naturalized, alien, exotic, immigrant, nan-native, non-indiginous, imported, and introduced.
Fountain grass is listed as an invasive grass in many states including Hawaii, where it is running rampant, growing along roadsides where a casually-tossed cigarette can start a large fire. The most immediate effective fuel load reduction treatment is prescribed fire. However, one method alone doesn't work as well as a multi-step treatment. This is due to multiple prescribed burns not being doable for private landowners. The best method of clearing out the immigrant fountain grass is a combination of prescribed fire, cattle-grazing, and herbicides.
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