The endangered Daffodil Orchid Ipsea speciosa (Orchidaceae): Population status in unprotected areas in the Central Highlands, Sri Lanka

The Daffodil Orchid, Ipsea speciosa, is a rare endemic terrestrial orchid species found in the highland grasslands of Sri Lanka. Due to the restricted distribution range, this species is considered as an endangered taxon. This study aimed to assess the present state of I. speciosa populations outside of protected areas. During field investigations of nine selected grasslands, the abundance of I speciosa and accompanying plant species composition was determined. The abundance of I. speciosa varied from 2 to 23 flowering plants per site. Species composition in study sites consisted of 41 plant taxa that included 12 invasive species. Habitat deterioration, intentional burning, clearing of vegetation, and spread of invasive alien plant species were found to be the most significant threats to highland grasslands and the orchid. During the survey, we observed the rapid spreading of invasive species in most of the sites which suggests that the terrestrial orchid population could shrink further. Apart from intentional burning, other serious threats to the orchids are various anthropogenic activities such as illegal collection for medicinal purposes and establishing timber plantations that negatively impact native grassland flora including terrestrial orchids. Our results suggest that a continuous monitoring program for I. speciosa should be initiated. Additionally, monitoring of potentially adverse anthropogenic activities is considered to be vital for the conservation of valuable grasslands and native flora of Sri Lanka. Key worDS: Epidendroideae, grasslands, invasive species, native flora, terrestrial orchids, threatened species

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INVASIVE PLANTS - A BOON OR BANE TO THE LEPIDOPTERON FAUNA: CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT PLAN SUGGESTIONS

Kongunadu Research Journal ◽

10.26524/krj192 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 148-160

Author(s):

Arjun C.P ◽

Anoop V.K ◽

Tijo K.J ◽

Anoopkumar T.K ◽

Roshnath R

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Plant Species ◽

Invasive Plants ◽

Management Practices ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Management Plan ◽

Control Measures ◽

Pteridium Aquilinum ◽

Native Flora ◽

Long Run

Butterfly diversity was recorded from Nov (2013) - May (2014) in Pookode region. A total number of 128 species recorded from the five families; Nymphalidae (46 species) Lycaenidae (28 species), Hesperiidae (22 species), Pieridae (17 species) and Papilionidae (15 species) respectively. During the survey invasive plant species were also recorded. There were 36 species of invasive plants from 18 families identified from the study area. More butterflies were attracted towards nectar offering invasive plants. Chromolaena odorata, Ipomea cairica, Lantana camara, Merremia vitifolia, Mikania micrantha, Mimosa diplotricha, Pennisetumpolystachyon, Pteridium aquilinum, Quisqualis indica and Sphagneticola trilobata were the major invasive plants found in the Pookode region and their flower attracts butterfly for pollination. Even though nectar offered by the plants are supportive for growth, in long run these species can affect butterfly population bydeclining native host larval plant species for butterfly reproduction. Invasive species compete with the native flora and reduce its population. Management practices like physical, chemical and modern bio control measures could be used for eradicating of invasive plants. Wise use of invasive plants for other economical purpose such as bio-fuel, medicinal purpose, bio-pesticide and handicraft could be suggested. Successful management of invasive species are needed for conserving Lepidoptera fauna and other native biota of the area.

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Assessment of the Potential of Introduction, Establishment and Further Spread of Invasive Alien Plant Species of European Union Concern in Lithuania

Botanica ◽

10.2478/botlit-2018-0004 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 37-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Zigmantas Gudžinskas ◽

Egidijus Žalneravičius ◽

Lukas Petrulaitis

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

European Union ◽

Plant Species ◽

Alien Plant Species ◽

Myriophyllum Aquaticum ◽

Impatiens Glandulifera ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Invasive Alien Plant ◽

Heracleum Mantegazzianum ◽

Pennisetum Setaceum

AbstractThe list of invasive alien species of European Union concern currently includes 23 plant species. The aim of this study was to assess the potential and importance of introduction pathways for invasive alien plant species in Lithuania, to estimate probability of their establishment and further spread in the country. Analysis of all available information revealed that three species (Asclepias syriaca,Heracleum sosnowskyiandImpatiens glandulifera) currently occur in Lithuania and the latter two are widespread invasive species in the country. The remaining 20 plant species have not been registered in the wild in Lithuania so far. Four of these,Gunnera tinctoria,Lysichiton americanus,Myriophyllum aquaticumandPennisetum setaceum, are occasionally cultivated in gardens or other outdoor areas, and six species, e.g.Cabomba caroliniana,Eichhornia crassipes, Lagarosiphon major, are cultivated in aquaria or other indoor spaces. Naturalization of seven species is unlikely in the country, whereas naturalization of 13 species (Lysichiton americanus,Myriophyllum aquaticum,Pennisetum setaceum, etc.) is plausible. Five of the analysed and still not recorded species are recognized as potentially invasive in Lithuania; the invasion of five species is plausible and that of 10 species is unlikely. The most important pathway of introduction of the analysed species is ornamental gardening. Three species that have not been recorded in Lithuania, but occur in the neighbouring regions of Europe (Elodea nuttallii,Heracleum mantegazzianum,Heracleum persicum) can enter the country by natural means. Importance of permanent studies and surveys on alien plants aiming to ensure early detection and eradication of invasive species is discussed.

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Comparing Negative Impacts of Prunus serotina, Quercus rubra and Robinia pseudoacacia on Native Forest Ecosystems

Forests ◽

10.3390/f10100842 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 842 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Gentili ◽

Ferrè ◽

Cardarelli ◽

Montagnani ◽

Bogliani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Plant Species ◽

Forest Ecosystems ◽

Quercus Rubra ◽

Robinia Pseudoacacia ◽

Prunus Serotina ◽

Native Forest ◽

Alien Plant Species ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Negative Impacts

The introduction of invasive alien plant species (IAPS) can modify plant-soil feedback, resulting in an alteration of the abiotic and biotic characteristics of ecosystems. Prunus serotina, Quercus rubra and Robinia pseudoacacia are IAPS of European temperate forests, where they can become dominant and suppress the native biodiversity. Assuming that the establishment of these invasive species may alter native forest ecosystems, this study comparatively assessed their impact on ecosystems. This study further investigated plant communities in 12 forest stands, dominated by the three IAPS and native trees, Quercus robur and Carpinus betulus (three plots per forest type), in Northern Italy, and collected soil samples. The relationships between the invasion of the three IAPS and modifications of humus forms, soil chemical properties, soil biological quality, bacterial activity and plant community structure and diversity (α-, β-, and γ-diversity) were assessed using one-way ANOVA and redundancy analyses (RDA). Our comparative study demonstrated that invaded forests often had unique plant and/or soil properties, relative to native forests, and the degree of dissimilarity depended on the invasive species. Particularly, Q. rubra is related to major negative impacts on soil organic horizons and low/modified levels of microarthropod and plant biodiversity. R. pseudoacacia is associated with an altered base content of soil and, in turn, with positive feedback to the soil biological quality (QBS-ar) and plant diversity, but with a high cover compared with other alien plant species. P. serotina is associated with intermediate impacts and exhibits a plant species assemblage that is more similar to those of native forest stands. Our work suggests impact-based management decisions for the three investigated IAPS, since their effects on the diversity and composition of resident ecosystems are very different.

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Multispecies invasion reduces the negative impact of single alien plant species on native flora

Diversity and Distributions ◽

10.1111/ddi.12902 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (6) ◽

pp. 951-962 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Magdalena Lenda ◽

Piotr Skórka ◽

Johannes Knops ◽

Michał Żmihorski ◽

Renata Gaj ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Alien Plant Species ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Native Flora

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Improving Checklists of Alien Plants with Digitised Herbarium Collections: The Example of D.R. Congo (Africa)

10.21203/rs.3.rs-516922/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Farzaneh Bordbar ◽

Pierre Meerts

Keyword(s):

Alien Species ◽

Plant Species ◽

Field Work ◽

Sampling Effort ◽

Alien Plant Species ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Widespread Species ◽

Native Flora ◽

Alien Flora ◽

Herbarium Collections

Abstract The Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R. Congo) represents a striking gap of knowledge on alien plant species. In this paper, we use digitised herbarium collections to assemble a checklist of alien plant species in D.R. Congo and to examine patterns in the alien flora. The new checklist comprises 426 alien species i.e., 182 (42.5%) casuals, 244 (57.5%) naturalised of which 80 (19% of aliens) are invasive. Discrepancies with previous databases are discussed. For many species in previous databases, we failed to find evidence for occurrence outside cultivation. A total of 158 taxa were not included in previous lists, 44 of which are new to D.R. Congo. Considering the size of the country and its rich native flora, the alien flora of D.R. Congo does not appear to be species rich. The alien flora is particularly rich in Fabaceae (15%) and in annual species (36%). America is by far the most important source continent (65%) and the proportion of annuals of American origin is particularly large among the most widespread species. Invasive success is discussed in terms of residence time. The very low number of new species records after 1960 is most likely accounted for by decreasing sampling effort. The results illustrate how herbarium collections can be used to critically revise existing checklists of alien species in tropical Africa. Field work is urgently needed to improve coverage of recent introductions and to monitor the status of alien species, especially in protected areas and around botanic gardens.

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Into the great wide open: do alien plants spread from rivers to dry savanna in the Kruger National Park?

NeoBiota ◽

10.3897/neobiota.60.54608 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 60 ◽

pp. 61-77

Author(s):

Petr Pyšek ◽

Martin Hejda ◽

Jan Čuda ◽

Guin Zambatis ◽

Klára Pyšková ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Alien Species ◽

Plant Species ◽

National Park ◽

Alien Plants ◽

Kruger National Park ◽

Parthenium Hysterophorus ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Widespread Species ◽

Tridax Procumbens

Protected areas play an important role as refuges from invasive species impacts on biodiversity. Within the MOSAIK (Monitoring Savanna Biodiversity in the Kruger National Park) project, plant species were recorded in a representative set of 60 plots, 50 × 50 m in size, across the entire KNP, distributed so as to cover a range of savanna habitats, i.e. perennial rivers, seasonal rivers and dry crests, and two main bedrock types (granite and basalt). The data were used to assess the role of rivers in the dispersal of alien plants and study whether the alien plant species spread from rivers to open dry savanna. The resulting dataset provided the first thorough information on the spatial distribution of naturalised alien plants in KNP. In total, we recorded 20 plant species that are alien to the park, four of them considered invasive: Parthenium hysterophorus, Opuntia stricta, Xanthium strumarium and Zinnia peruviana. The most widespread species in KNP was Tridax procumbens, recorded in 11 plots (i.e. 18% of all sampled), four other species were found in > 10% of the plots. One species, Bidens bipinnata, was not previously reported from the park and represents a new record. The majority of aliens were concentrated along perennial rivers (60% of all occurrences), but some were repeatedly recorded at seasonal rivers as well and two of the most invasive species in KNP, Opuntia stricta and Parthenium hysterophorus, occurred also on dry crests away from water. The average number of alien species per plot was low (1.6), as was their mean percentage contribution to all species in a plot (2.2%), but some plots harboured as many as seven species and contributed up to 11.9%. Moreover, only 21 plots (35%) were alien-species free. In terms of the total species number per habitat, perennial rivers had significantly more aliens than crests and were marginally significantly richer than seasonal rivers. By recording all naturalised alien species occurring in the plots – many of them are not invasive but may become so in the future – and by using the GloNAF database of global distribution of naturalised species, we assessed the invasion potential of the recorded species.

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UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES FOR ALIEN PLANT SPECIES DETECTION AND MONITORING

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

10.5194/isprsarchives-xl-1-w4-83-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol XL-1/W4 ◽

pp. 83-90 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

P. Dvořák ◽

J. Müllerová ◽

T. Bartaloš ◽

J. Brůna

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Plant Species ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Low Cost ◽

Detection Algorithm ◽

Unmanned Aircraft ◽

Computer Assisted ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Extensive Field

Invasive species spread rapidly and their eradication is difficult. New methods enabling fast and efficient monitoring are urgently needed for their successful control. Remote sensing can improve early detection of invading plants and make their management more efficient and less expensive. In an ongoing project in the Czech Republic, we aim at developing innovative methods of mapping invasive plant species (semi-automatic detection algorithms) by using purposely designed unmanned aircraft (UAV). We examine possibilities for detection of two tree and two herb invasive species. Our aim is to establish fast, repeatable and efficient computer-assisted method of timely monitoring, reducing the costs of extensive field campaigns. For finding the best detection algorithm we test various classification approaches (object-, pixel-based and hybrid). Thanks to its flexibility and low cost, UAV enables assessing the effect of phenological stage and spatial resolution, and is most suitable for monitoring the efficiency of eradication efforts. However, several challenges exist in UAV application, such as geometrical and radiometric distortions, high amount of data to be processed and legal constrains for the UAV flight missions over urban areas (often highly invaded). The newly proposed UAV approach shall serve invasive species researchers, management practitioners and policy makers.

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Species Composition, Community Structure, and Diagnosis of Plant Succession on the Alien Plant Species Coreopsis lanceolata Established Semi-natural Grassland

Journal of The Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture ◽

10.5632/jila.69.541 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 69 (5) ◽

pp. 541-544 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Tatsuya SAITO ◽

Kumiko OKUBO

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Species Composition ◽

Plant Species ◽

Plant Succession ◽

Alien Plant Species ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Natural Grassland

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Invasive Plant Species Establishment and Range Dynamics in Sri Lanka under Climate Change

Entropy ◽

10.3390/e21060571 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (6) ◽

pp. 571 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Champika S. Kariyawasam ◽

Lalit Kumar ◽

Sujith S. Ratnayake

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Plant Species ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Entropy Method ◽

Climatic Suitability ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Invasive Alien Plant ◽

Climate Suitability

Plant invasion has been widely recognized as an agent of global change that has the potential to have severe impacts under climate change. The challenges posed by invasive alien plant species (IAPS) on biodiversity and ecosystem stability is growing and not adequately studied, especially in developing countries. Defining climate suitability for multiple invasive plants establishment is important for early and strategic interventions to control and manage plant invasions. We modeled priority IAPS in Sri Lanka to identify the areas of greatest climatic suitability for their establishment and observed how these areas could be altered under projected climate change. We used Maximum Entropy method to model 14 nationally significant IAPS under representative concentration pathways 4.5 and 8.5 for 2050 and 2070. The combined climate suitability map produced by summing up climatic suitability of 14 IAPS was further classified into five classes in ArcMap as very high, high, moderate, low, and very low. South and west parts of Sri Lanka are projected to have potentially higher climatic suitability for a larger number of IAPS. We observed suitable area changes (gains and losses) in all five classes of which two were significant enough to make an overall negative impact i.e., (i) contraction of the very low class and (ii) expansion of the moderate class. Both these changes trigger the potential risk from IAPS in Sri Lanka in the future.

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