Plant Invasions: Habitat Invasibility and Dominance of Invasive Plant Species

Invasive plant species represent a serious threat to biodiversity and landscape as well as human health and socio-economy. To successfully fight plant invasions, new methods enabling fast and efficient monitoring, such as remote sensing, are needed. In an ongoing project, optical remote sensing (RS) data of different origin (satellite, aerial and UAV), spectral (panchromatic, multispectral and color), spatial (very high to medium) and temporal resolution, and various technical approaches (object-, pixelbased and combined) are tested to choose the best strategies for monitoring of four invasive plant species (giant hogweed, black locust, tree of heaven and exotic knotweeds). In our study, we address trade-offs between spectral, spatial and temporal resolutions required for balance between the precision of detection and economic feasibility. For the best results, it is necessary to choose best combination of spatial and spectral resolution and phenological stage of the plant in focus. For species forming distinct inflorescences such as giant hogweed iterative semi-automated object-oriented approach was successfully applied even for low spectral resolution data (if pixel size was sufficient) whereas for lower spatial resolution satellite imagery or less distinct species with complicated architecture such as knotweed, combination of pixel and object based approaches was used. High accuracies achieved for very high resolution data indicate the possible application of described methodology for monitoring invasions and their long-term dynamics elsewhere, making management measures comparably precise, fast and efficient. This knowledge serves as a basis for prediction, monitoring and prioritization of management targets.

Download Full-text

DOES THE DATA RESOLUTION/ORIGIN MATTER? SATELLITE, AIRBORNE AND UAV IMAGERY TO TACKLE PLANT INVASIONS

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprsarchives-xli-b7-903-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol XLI-B7 ◽

pp. 903-908 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Jana Müllerová ◽

Josef Brůna ◽

Petr Dvořák ◽

Tomáš Bartaloš ◽

Michaela Vítková

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Plant Species ◽

Spectral Resolution ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Plant Invasions ◽

Economic Feasibility ◽

Invasive Plant Species ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Very High ◽

Resolution Data

Invasive plant species represent a serious threat to biodiversity and landscape as well as human health and socio-economy. To successfully fight plant invasions, new methods enabling fast and efficient monitoring, such as remote sensing, are needed. In an ongoing project, optical remote sensing (RS) data of different origin (satellite, aerial and UAV), spectral (panchromatic, multispectral and color), spatial (very high to medium) and temporal resolution, and various technical approaches (object-, pixelbased and combined) are tested to choose the best strategies for monitoring of four invasive plant species (giant hogweed, black locust, tree of heaven and exotic knotweeds). In our study, we address trade-offs between spectral, spatial and temporal resolutions required for balance between the precision of detection and economic feasibility. For the best results, it is necessary to choose best combination of spatial and spectral resolution and phenological stage of the plant in focus. For species forming distinct inflorescences such as giant hogweed iterative semi-automated object-oriented approach was successfully applied even for low spectral resolution data (if pixel size was sufficient) whereas for lower spatial resolution satellite imagery or less distinct species with complicated architecture such as knotweed, combination of pixel and object based approaches was used. High accuracies achieved for very high resolution data indicate the possible application of described methodology for monitoring invasions and their long-term dynamics elsewhere, making management measures comparably precise, fast and efficient. This knowledge serves as a basis for prediction, monitoring and prioritization of management targets.

Download Full-text

The current status of the plant invasions in Belarus

Environmental & Socio-economic Studies ◽

10.2478/environ-2021-0021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 14-22

Author(s):

Dmitry V. Dubovik ◽

Siarhei S. Sauchuk ◽

Liudmyla V. Zavialova

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Plant Invasions ◽

Rapid Expansion ◽

Current Status ◽

Solidago Canadensis ◽

Invasive Plant Species ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Alien Flora ◽

Bidens Frondosa

Abstract This article provides a review of the current status of plant invasions in Belarus. As a result of this research into the alien flora between 2008 and 2020 a list of 52 invasive plant species that threaten biodiversity, human health, and economic has been compiled. About 300 taxa of non-native plants are currently classified as potentially invasive. The list of invasive plant species has been proposed in this article in accordance with trends in the invasive processes is the basis for the monitoring and management of plant invasions in Belarus. The preliminary data from the previous field seasons showed a significant increase in the population abundance and distribution of Swida alba, Rudbeckia laciniata and Artemisia abrotanum. Enrichment of the flora occurs due to the introduction of aggressive plants. Hybridization between native and alien plant species leads to the appearance of hybrids, which often have an invasive potential, and can invade not only disturbed habitats but also natural plant communities. The invasive properties, expansion, and aggressive behavior of these invasive plants of the alien flora of Belarus has led to significant, often irreversible, changes in the natural vegetation and vegetation cover. Invasive species such as Solidago canadensis, S. gigantea, Echynocystis lobata, Impatiens glandulifera are marked by rapid expansion over past decades, and Heracleum sosnowskyi, Solidago canadensis, S. gigantea, Echinocystis lobata, Impatiens parviflora, Acer negundo, Robinia pseudoacacia, Bidens frondosa, have invaded more recently.

Download Full-text

Invasive Plants Rapidly Reshape Soil Properties in a Grassland Ecosystem

mSystems ◽

10.1128/msystems.00178-16 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Sean M. Gibbons ◽

Ylva Lekberg ◽

Daniel L. Mummey ◽

Naseer Sangwan ◽

Philip W. Ramsey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Plant Invasions ◽

Invasive Plant Species ◽

Native Plant ◽

Soil Environment ◽

Grassland Soil ◽

Crucial Step ◽

Native Communities ◽

Plant Invaders

ABSTRACT In this study, we show how invasive plant species drive rapid shifts in the soil environment from surrounding native communities. Each of the three plant invaders had different but consistent effects on soils. Thus, there does not appear to be a one-size-fits-all strategy for how plant invaders alter grassland soil environments. This work represents a crucial step toward understanding how invaders might be able to prevent or impair native reestablishment by changing soil biotic and abiotic properties. Plant invasions often reduce native plant diversity and increase net primary productivity. Invaded soils appear to differ from surrounding soils in ways that impede restoration of diverse native plant communities. We hypothesize that invader-mediated shifts in edaphic properties reproducibly alter soil microbial community structure and function. Here, we take a holistic approach, characterizing plant, prokaryotic, and fungal communities and soil physicochemical properties in field sites, invasion gradients, and experimental plots for three invasive plant species that cooccur in the Rocky Mountain West. Each invader had a unique impact on soil physicochemical properties. We found that invasions drove shifts in the abundances of specific microbial taxa, while overall belowground community structure and functional potential were fairly constant. Forb invaders were generally enriched in copiotrophic bacteria with higher 16S rRNA gene copy numbers and showed greater microbial carbohydrate and nitrogen metabolic potential. Older invasions had stronger effects on abiotic soil properties, indicative of multiyear successions. Overall, we show that plant invasions are idiosyncratic in their impact on soils and are directly responsible for driving reproducible shifts in the soil environment over multiyear time scales. IMPORTANCE In this study, we show how invasive plant species drive rapid shifts in the soil environment from surrounding native communities. Each of the three plant invaders had different but consistent effects on soils. Thus, there does not appear to be a one-size-fits-all strategy for how plant invaders alter grassland soil environments. This work represents a crucial step toward understanding how invaders might be able to prevent or impair native reestablishment by changing soil biotic and abiotic properties.

Download Full-text