The common edible fig is a subcanopy tree that has invaded many of the remnant riparian forests of California's Central Valley. Fig is unusual in its ability to invade low-light, low-disturbance, native-plant–dominated environments. Dendrochronology combined with regression and spatial analyses allowed us to empirically quantify the expansion rate and spatial pattern of the fig invasion into the native plant community at Caswell Memorial State Park (Ripon, CA) over a 70-year invasion period. Fig uses a combination of short-distance dispersal, which results in constant, linear expansion at source population sites and long-distance dispersal, which eventually leads to high recruitment of satellite populations in ideal environments. Although fig initially experienced a long lag in its invasion rate, at the time of this study, it was expanding at an exponential rate at the landscape scale in Caswell. We identified a number of characteristics intrinsic to the fig population (shade suppression, pollinator presence, highly specialized reproduction, and propagule pressure) as well as extrinsic characteristics of the receiving environment (hydrologic alteration from the construction of a dam, safe sites for juvenile recruitment, and target effects from environmental heterogeneity) that may have influenced the rate and pattern of fig invasion. The Central Valley riparian forests have been reduced to less than 6% of their original area, and invasive fig is a significant threat to the remaining fragments of this important vegetation community. We include suggestions for fig eradication based on knowledge gained in this study.

Basal bark treatments involve the application of concentrated herbicide solution on each individual stem of targeted plants. When applied to stands of invasive plants with high stem densities, basal bark treatments may result in the use of large quantities of herbicide in a given area. The effect of basal bark treatments using a solution of 25% triclopyr herbicide and 75% methylated seed oil was tested on research plots located in six different groves of invasive fig, a densely stemmed, problematic invader of riparian forests in California. The experimental treatments resulted in application rates that were equivalent to 28 to 44 kg ae/ha, greatly in excess of the labeled maximum use rate of 9 kg ae/ha (8 lb/ac). At 175 d after application, soils near the fig trunks contained high levels of triclopyr residues (up to 6.6 ppmw), suggesting that the chemical made its way into soils during this period and was not completely degraded. Although the mortality of native plants transplanted into treated fig groves was low (up to 16%), it was significantly greater than the mortality experienced by native plants transplanted into untreated control sites (0%). Although effective in controlling invasive fig trees (> 99% mortality), the high herbicide application rates from basal bark treatment preclude the use of this treatment in large fig groves. These treatments may be appropriate, however, when fig groves are small or isolated enough to prevent overapplication on a per-area basis. In addition, neither limited basal bark applications of triclopyr (< 40% of stems treated) nor foliar spray treatments of 2% glyphosate were effective control measures. Further investigation is needed on ways to control large invasive fig groves.