Assessing the Feasibility of Productive Weed Use: A Decision Support Framework for Land Stakeholders

Abstract

People value plants differently, based on their own experiences of nature and how those experiences relate to a particular plant. Plant species that are perceived to be of low value (i.e. ‘weeds’) are often managed to prevent their spread. Such weed management typically involves prescribed burning, cutting and/or treatment with herbicide. Productive uses of weeds are rarely considered in weed management decision making. This paper develops a decision support framework to aid land stakeholders in assessing the feasibility of reviving past productive uses of weeds to support their sustainable management. Through a qualitative case study of Ulex europaeus L. (commonly known as gorse), the decision support framework is derived from: (i) semi-structured interviews with key informants and walking interviews with land managers in the United Kingdom (UK) (where U. europaeus is native) and (ii) questionnaires and written interviews in Australia (where U. europaeus is non-native). Data were analysed using NVivo 20 and thematic analysis, then used to design the decision support framework. Two simulations, one considering a UK smallholding and one on a large landholding in Australia, demonstrate the ability of the framework to guide on the feasible uses of U. europaeus on a particular plot of land, the costs and benefits it offers for livelihoods and the potential environmental impacts of its use. Findings show productive use is a feasible management process in certain contexts. Scale and cost remain limiting factors, and a broad enabling environment is also needed. Real-world testing is required as the next step for the wider deployment of the framework.