Native plants live well with each other, sharing food, water, shelter, and space. When brought to a different environment these now non-native plants have trouble adapting with native plants. They take control of the space provided and begin to overcrowd the area, taking out many natives. Non-native species also lack natural controls such as disease and predation, which helps to keep a balance between species.

Exotic plants were first introduced to south Florida in the late 1800s and the population of them has been increasing ever since (Public Affairs Office, 1997a, 1997b). Most nonindigenous plants feel welcomed in the Sunshine State's partly tropical climate. They are able to stand the heavy rainfalls and Florida's partial droughts (Kramer, 1998). One non-native species that has grown throughout south Florida, and has even been called the Florida Holly, is quickly spreading (Public

The Brazilian pepper invades saw grass marshes, muhley prairies, tropical hardwood hammocks, coastal hardwood hammocks, slash pine forests, and the saltwater mangrove ecotore. As a result it has become part of the Everglade's largest wetlands restoration efforts. The Hole-in-the-Doughnut, a 4,000-hectare of abandoned farmland, is where the restoration is taking place. By completely removing disturbed substrate from the area and increasing the hydroperiod, secondary successional patterns alter, favoring the native vegetation and excludes Brazilian pepper. Mangrove forests are also in danger of this overspreading plant. In 1987 there were 42,000 hectares of west-coast mangrove that contained Brazilian pepper. It is difficult to remove this plant because of the effects it has on other species. Fire has been demonstrated and may reduce biomass and invasive potential, but the long-term outcomes are not well known. Injections of Herbicide and direct removal by hand have been used and only depleted Brazilian pepper on a small scale. A study at the University of Florida is investigating insects such as the thrips, sawfly, and several leaf tiers to use against the plant. An even bigger problem is that there has been no statewide policies developed for this, and funding for the management of exotics is insufficient and inconsistent. The Everglades National Park sets aside less than one percent of its budget towards management of exot

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 965
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)