The Paradox of Weeds

Nimal R. Chandrasena

Keywords:

utilization of weeds; virtuous weeds, Weed Science; weed literacy; eco-literacy; ‘aliens’; ‘invasive species’; invasions; weeds

Abstract:

Weeds do present a paradox for humans. On the one hand, they bother us by being aggressive habitat colonizers that can adversely affect agricultural production or interfere with human activities. As pioneering species, the presence of weeds is inevitable in environments disturbed by humans or other forces. Nevertheless, the sheer abundance of some weedy species makes them undesirable in humandisturbed environments. Some of the highly aggressive weeds cost substantial money and effort to manage. The simple habitat occupation and ‘colonization’ of available ‘ecological niches’ by these highly successful plants gets them into trouble in the minds of some, who prefer to attribute other meanings, such as ‘invasions’ to these “alien and foreign” species. A dip into history shows that, like humans, colonizing taxa are good at what they are genetically predisposed to do, i.e., adapt and survive even in the most stressful environments, with or without the presence of human-caused disturbances and areas where our crops would not do well. A balanced look at weedy species – ‘Seeing Weeds With New Eyes’ – would show that many of these species can be put to incredibly beneficial societal uses. The adaptive characteristics that make many species so successful are well understood within the corpus of Weed Science, yet they are much undervalued. I contend that many species undisputedly possess the strengths and attributes that humans desperately need in an uncertain future. To exploit the benefits of weedy species, we need to change our deeply entrenched negative perceptions about weeds and modify how we interact with other successful species. Weeds are no more ‘alien’ than we are. They are also no more ‘invasive’ than we are. As one historian (Alfred Crosby, 1986) noted, these species may even help heal the wounds on the earth, torn apart by the real ‘invaders’ – those ‘wretched ingrates’ (humans).