Pro‐environment behaviors, invasive plant management, and the gap between motivations for behavioral intention and action

Abstract

Invasive plant species pose significant challenges to natural resources and communities around the world. Climate change and globalization have increased the spread and establishment of invasive plants, and this trend is expected to continue. Because invasive plants can establish and spread in new habitats, successful management frequently requires collective action across land ownerships and stakeholder groups to implement management practices at a geographic scale large enough to restrict spillovers and reestablishment from unmanaged areas. However, invasive plant management may require different motivations than other pro‐environmental behaviors because mitigation of invasive plants often comes at high individual cost, has limited effectiveness when undertaken in isolation, and emphasizes collective over individual actions. In this paper, we apply Protection Motivation Theory to the problem of invasive plant management. Using a public survey conducted in Tucson, Arizona, USA, we evaluate how threat appraisals and coping appraisals are associated with both willingness to engage in buffelgrass ( Pennisetum ciliare ) mitigation and reported action. Our findings show important differences between the factors that motivate behavioral intention and those associated with taking action. Notably, the willingness‐action gap appears to depend in part on individuals' personal connection to buffelgrass threats and belief that their own actions can contribute meaningfully to effective management. As such, land managers and policymakers may need to investigate community motivations before designing outreach campaigns and emphasize tangible, personally meaningful opportunities for individual action.