Two links to recent BBC news articles on invasive weeds.
The first one is about a weed that should be familiar to anyone who has traveled in much of the intermountain west - cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). The BBC article entitled "Wildfires fanned by invasive grass species" is a popular press discussion of recently article by Balch et al. in the scientific journal Global Change Biology. The focus of the research and reports was to discuss the effects that this fast growing (and fast dying) weed has on fire cycles and fire severity in the western US. Very interesting!
The second one, "Cuba sugar cane marabu weeds 'could be turned to fuel'" is sort of a "make lemonade out of lemons" story about a woody invasive species that may have promise as a biofuel feedstock. The plant is being tested as a feedstock for renewable energy, harvest may return overrun lands to agriculture, and (extra bonus) the dense wood makes high grade carbon that can be used for filtering rum! If they can figure out the harvesting logistics and make it economical, it sounds like a win-win-(win) situation to me.
Take care,
Brad