scholarly journals Livistona chinensis (Chinese fan palm).

Author(s):  
Julissa Rojas-Sandoval

Abstract Livistona chinensis is a palm tree that has been widely introduced into tropical and warm temperate regions of the world to be used as ornamental. It has escaped from cultivation and become naturalized in disturbed sites, but also in undisturbed natural areas. L. chinensis produces a large amount of fruits and has high germination rates. It grows by forming dense thickets that can crowd out and overshadow native species. Currently, it is listed as invasive in Hawaii, Florida, Bermuda, Mauritius, Reunion and New Caledonia. In Florida, L. chinensis is listed as a category II invasive plant, a category designed for species with the potential to disrupt native plant communities.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julissa Rojas-Sandoval

Abstract C. bicolor is a dormant geophyte herb extensively commercialized in the horticultural trade around the world (Deng, 2012; USDA-ARS, 2016). It is often cultivated as an ornamental and potted plant and naturalized populations of C. bicolor can be found in areas within and outside its native distribution range (Madison, 1981; Govaerts, 2016). Currently, C. bicolor is listed as invasive in Trinidad and Tobago, Guam, Micronesia, Palau, Hawaii and the Philippines, where it is considered a species that is altering native plant communities by displacing native species, and changing community structures and ecological functions (Space et al., 2003; Herrera et al., 2010; PIER, 2016; Trinidad Biodiversity, 2016).


Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Wandrag ◽  
◽  
Jane A. Catford ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  

The introduction of species to new locations leads to novel competitive interactions between resident native and newly-arriving non-native species. The nature of these competitive interactions can influence the suitability of the environment for the survival, reproduction and spread of non-native plant species, and the impact those species have on native plant communities. Indeed, the large literature on competition among plants reflects its importance in shaping the composition of plant communities, including the invasion success of non-native species. While competition and invasion theory have historically developed in parallel, the increasing recognition of the synergism between the two themes has led to new insights into how non-native plant species invade native plant communities, and the impacts they have on those plant communities. This chapter provides an entry point into the aspects of competition theory that can help explain the success, dominance and impacts of invasive species. It focuses on resource competition, which arises wherever the resources necessary for establishment, survival, reproduction and spread are in limited supply. It highlights key hypotheses developed in invasion biology that relate to ideas of competition, outlines biotic and abiotic factors that influence the strength of competition and species' relative competitive abilities, and describes when and how competition between non-native and native plant species can influence invasion outcomes. Understanding the processes that influence the strength of competition between non-native and native plant species is a necessary step towards understanding the causes and consequences of biological invasions.


Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 813
Author(s):  
Ian Sexton ◽  
Philip Turk ◽  
Lindsay Ringer ◽  
Cynthia S. Brown

The accumulation of live and dead trees and other vegetation in forests across the western United States is producing larger and more severe wildfires. To decrease wildfire severity and increase forest resilience, foresters regularly remove excess fuel by burning woody material in piles. This common practice could also cause persistent ecosystem changes such as the alteration of soil physical and chemical properties due to extreme soil heating, which can favor invasion by non-native plant species. The abundance and species richness of native plant communities may also remain depressed for many years after burning has removed vegetation and diminished propagules in the soil. This adds to the vulnerability of burned areas to the colonization and dominance by invasive species. Research into the use of revegetation techniques following pile burning to suppress invasion is limited. Studies conducted in various woodland types that investigated revegetation of pile burn scars have met with varying success. To assess the effectiveness of restoring pile burn scars in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, we monitored vegetation in 26 scars, each about 5 m in diameter, the growing season after burning. Later that summer, we selected 14 scars for restoration that included soil scarification, seed addition, and pine duff mulch cover. We monitored the scars for four years, pre-restoration, and three years post-restoration and found that the cover of seeded species exceeded the surrounding unburned areas and unseeded controls. The restoration seeding suppressed cover of non-native species as well as native species that were not seeded during restoration. Our results suggest that restoration of pile burn scars could be a useful tool to retard the establishment of invasive plant species when there are pre-existing infestations near scars. However, this must be weighed against the simultaneous suppression of native species recruitment. Monitoring for periods more than three years will help us understand how long the suppression of native and non-native species by restoration species may persist.


Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 773
Author(s):  
Marie Zakardjian ◽  
Benoît Geslin ◽  
Valentin Mitran ◽  
Evelyne Franquet ◽  
Hervé Jourdan

Land-use changes through urbanization and biological invasions both threaten plant-pollinator networks. Urban areas host modified bee communities and are characterized by high proportions of exotic plants. Exotic species, either animals or plants, may compete with native species and disrupt plant–pollinator interactions. These threats are heightened in insular systems of the Southwest Pacific, where the bee fauna is generally poor and ecological networks are simplified. However, the impacts of these factors have seldom been studied in tropical contexts. To explore those questions, we installed experimental exotic plant communities in urban and natural contexts in New Caledonia, a plant diversity hotspot. For four weeks, we observed plant–pollinator interactions between local pollinators and our experimental exotic plant communities. We found a significantly higher foraging activity of exotic wild bees within the city, together with a strong plant–pollinator association between two exotic species. However, contrary to our expectations, the landscape context (urban vs. natural) had no effect on the activity of native bees. These results raise issues concerning how species introduced in plant–pollinator networks will impact the reproductive success of both native and exotic plants. Furthermore, the urban system could act as a springboard for alien species to disperse in natural systems and even invade them, leading to conservation concerns.


AoB Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Betsy von Holle ◽  
Sören E Weber ◽  
David M Nickerson

Abstract Plant species ranges are expected to shift in response to climate change, however, it is unclear how species interactions will affect range shifts. Because of the potential for enemy release of invasive nonnative plant species from species-specific soil pathogens, invasive plants may be able to shift ranges more readily than native plant species. Additionally, changing climatic conditions may alter soil microbial functioning, affecting plant–microbe interactions. We evaluated the effects of site, plant–soil microbe interactions, altered climate, and their interactions on the growth and germination of three congeneric shrub species, two native to southern and central Florida (Eugenia foetida and E. axillaris), and one nonnative invasive from south America (E. uniflora). We measured germination and biomass for these plant species in growth chambers grown under live and sterile soils from two sites within their current range, and one site in their expected range, simulating current (2010) and predicted future (2050) spring growing season temperatures in the new range. Soil microbes (microscopic bacteria, fungi, viruses and other organisms) had a net negative effect on the invasive plant, E. uniflora, across all sites and temperature treatments. This negative response to soil microbes suggests that E. uniflora’s invasive success and potential for range expansion are due to other contributing factors, e.g. higher germination and growth relative to native Eugenia. The effect of soil microbes on the native species depended on the geographic provenance of the microbes, and this may influence range expansion of these native species.


Botany ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (6) ◽  
pp. 481-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine A. Gehring ◽  
Michaela Hayer ◽  
Lluvia Flores-Rentería ◽  
Andrew F. Krohn ◽  
Egbert Schwartz ◽  
...  

Invasive, non-native plant species can alter soil microbial communities in ways that contribute to their persistence. While most studies emphasize mycorrhizal fungi, invasive plants also may influence communities of dark septate fungi (DSF), which are common root endophytes that can function like mycorrhizas. We tested the hypothesis that a widespread invasive plant in the western United States, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.), influenced the abundance and community composition of DSF by examining the roots and rhizosphere soils of cheatgrass and two native plant species in cheatgrass-invaded and noninvaded areas of sagebrush steppe. We focused on cheatgrass because it is negatively affected by mycorrhizal fungi and colonized by DSF. We found that DSF root colonization and operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness were significantly higher in sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) and rice grass (Achnatherum hymenoides (Roem. & Schult.) Barkworth) from invaded areas than noninvaded areas. Cheatgrass roots had similar levels of DSF colonization and OTU richness as native plants. The community composition of DSF varied with invasion in the roots and soils of native species and among the roots of the three plant species in the invaded areas. The substantial changes in DSF we observed following cheatgrass invasion argue for comparative studies of DSF function in native and non-native plant species.


2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis L. Almquist ◽  
Rodney G. Lym

AbstractAminopyralid efficacy on Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) and potential to injure native species was evaluated in a restored prairie at the Glacial Ridge Preserve managed by The Nature Conservancy in Polk County, MN. Canada thistle stem density was reduced from 17 to 0.1 stems m−2 10 mo after treatment (MAT) with aminopyralid applied in the fall at 120 g ha−1. Aminopyralid also altered the composition of both Canada thistle–infested and native plant communities. Aminopyralid controlled Canada thistle and removed or reduced several undesirable forb species from the restored prairie communities, such as absinth wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) and perennial sowthistle (Sonchus arvensis). A number of high seral forbs were also reduced or removed by aminopyralid, including maximilian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani) and purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea). Foliar cover of high seral forbs in the native plant community was reduced from 12.2 to 7% 22 MAT. The cover of high seral grass species, such as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) and Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) increased after aminopyralid application in both the Canada thistle–infested and native plant communities and averaged 41.4% cover compared with only 19.4% before removal of Canada thistle. Species richness, evenness, and diversity were reduced after aminopyralid application in both Canada thistle–infested and native plant communities. However, the benefits of Canada thistle control, removal of undesirable species, and the increase in native grass cover should lead to an overall improvement in the long-term stability and composition of the restored prairie plant community, which likely outweigh the short-term effects of a Canada thistle control program.


2006 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. Grice

Most parts of the Australian rangelands are at risk of invasion by one or more species of non-native plants. The severity of current problems varies greatly across the rangelands with more non-native plant species in more intensively settled regions, in climatic zones that have higher and more reliable rainfall, and in wetter and more fertile parts of rangeland landscapes. Although there is quantitative evidence of impacts on either particular taxonomic groups or specific ecological processes in Australian rangelands, a comprehensive picture of responses of rangeland ecosystems to plant invasions is not available. Research has been focused on invasive species that are perceived to have important effects. This is likely to down play the significance of species that have visually less dramatic influences and ignore the possibility that some species could invade and yet have negligible consequences. It is conceivable that most of the overall impact will come from a relatively small proportion of invasive species. Impacts have most commonly been assessed in terms of plant species richness or the abundance of certain groups of vertebrates to the almost complete exclusion of other faunal groups. All scientific studies of the impacts of invasive species in Australian rangelands have focused on the effects of individual invasive species although in many situations native communities are under threat from a complex of interacting weed species. Invasion by non-native species is generally associated with declines in native plant species richness, but faunal responses are more complex and individual invasions may be associated with increase, decrease and no-change scenarios for different faunal groups. Some invasive species may remain minor components of the vegetation that they invade while others completely dominate one stratum or the vegetation overall.


Author(s):  
Brijesh K. ◽  
Kamath M.

The Visha Dravya Gunja is mentioned in Samhita and other Ayurvedic texts. In Samhita it is mentioned under Sthavara Visha and in the texts of Rasashastra it classified is under Upavishas. The history of poisons and poisoning dates back several thousand years. Abrus precatorius is a severely invasive plant in warm temperate to tropical regions, so much so that it has become effectively pantropical in distribution. It has been estimated that some form of poison directly or indirectly is responsible for more than 1 million illnesses worldwide annually. Most cases of poisoning actually go unreported, especially in Third world countries. The incidence of poisoning in India is highest in the world. The causes of poisoning in India are highest in the world. The commonest agents in India appear to be plant toxins, pesticides, chemical and household poisons. The Shodhana of Gunja is also mentioned in Ayurvedic texts. In this manuscript the detail explanation regarding Gunja in Ayurvedic and contemporary texts has been compiled and critically analyzed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 124 (5) ◽  
pp. 819-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinmin Lu ◽  
Minyan He ◽  
Saichun Tang ◽  
Yuqing Wu ◽  
Xu Shao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and Aims The strengths of biotic interactions such as herbivory are expected to decrease with increasing latitude for native species. To what extent this applies to invasive species and what the consequences of this variation are for competition among native and invasive species remain unexplored. Here, herbivore impacts on the invasive plant Alternanthera philoxeroides and its competition with the native congener A. sessilis were estimated across latitudes in China. Methods An common garden experiment spanning ten latitudinal degrees was conducted to test how herbivore impacts on A. philoxeroides and A. sessilis, and competition between them change with latitude. In addition, a field survey was conducted from 21°N to 36.8°N to test whether A. philoxeroides invasiveness changes with latitude in nature as a result of variations in herbivory. Key Results In the experiment, A. sessilis cover was significantly higher than A. philoxeroides cover when they competed in the absence of herbivores, but otherwise their cover was comparable at low latitude. However, A. philoxeroides cover was always higher on average than A. sessilis cover at middle latitude. At high latitude, only A. sessilis emerged in the second year. Herbivore abundance decreased with latitude and A. philoxeroides emerged earlier than A. sessilis at middle latitude. In the field survey, the ratio of A. philoxeroides to A. sessilis cover was hump shaped with latitude. Conclusion These results indicate that herbivory may promote A. philoxeroides invasion only at low latitude by altering the outcome of competition in favour of the invader and point to the importance of other factors, such as earlier emergence, in A. philoxeroides invasion at higher latitudes. These results suggest that the key factors promoting plant invasions might change with latitude, highlighting the importance of teasing apart the roles of multiple factors in plant invasions within a biogeographic framework.


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