scholarly journals The role of rivers and streams in the migration of alien plants into the Polish Carpathians

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Zając ◽  
Barbara Tokarska-Guzik ◽  
Maria Zając
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Invasive Alien Plants ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
The Carpathians ◽  
Rivers And Streams ◽  
Polish Carpathians ◽  
River Valleys

The role of rivers and streams in the migration of alien plants into the Polish CarpathiansThe Carpathians are among the regions of Poland that are generally less susceptible to invasive alien plants. The factor limiting the spread of the species of this group is, above all, the mountain climate. Even species originating from other mountain regions, e.g. the HimalayanImpatiens glandulifera, have their localities only at low elevations, in the Carpathian foothills. In most cases, alien plant species migrate into the Carpathians from the lowlands. The river valleys provide the migration corridors used by alien species in the course of their progress into new territories of the upper mountain localities. The situation along some mountain rivers, where invasive alien species dominate the native vegetation, is dramatic. Their spread is facilitated not only by easy diaspore transport but also by some anthropogenic factors, such as, river engineering and the transformation of riparian habitats and progressing devastation. Currently, we can observe some invasive alien plants "in statu nascendi", developing a new, secondary range in the Carpathians (e.g.Chaerophyllum aureum) or at the foothills, along the Wisła (Vistula) and San river valleys (e.g.Eragrostis albensis). For some species, cities were the destination for the first stage of future migration, e.g.Acer negundo. In the Carpathians, where many national parks and nature reserves are located, the continuous monitoring of the spread of invasive alien plants should be one of the principal activities of botanists.

scholarly journals A preliminary assessment of the extent and potential impacts of alien plant invasions in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, East Africa

Koedoe ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arne B.R. Witt ◽  
Sospeter Kiambi ◽  
Tim Beale ◽  
Brian W. Van Wilgen
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
East Africa ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Alien Plant Species ◽  
Invasive Alien Plants ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Human Habitation

This article provides a preliminary list of alien plant species in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in East Africa. The list is based on broad-scale roadside surveys in the area and is supplemented by more detailed surveys of tourist facilities in the Masai-Mara National Reserve and adjoining conservancies. We encountered 245 alien plant species; significantly more than previous studies, of which 62 (25%) were considered to have established self-perpetuating populations in areas away from human habitation. These included species which had either been intentionally or accidentally introduced. Of the 245 alien plants, 212 (including four species considered to be native to the region) were intentionally introduced into gardens in the National Reserve and 51 (24%) had established naturalised populations within the boundaries of these tourism facilities. Of the 51 naturalised species, 23 (11% of the 212 alien species) were recorded as being invasive within the ecosystem, outside of lodges and away from other human habitation. Currently, the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is relatively free of widespread and abundant invasive alien plants, with a few exceptions, but there are extensive populations outside of the ecosystem, particularly to the west, from where they could spread. We address the potential impacts of six species that we consider to pose the highest risks (Parthenium hysterophorus, Opuntia stricta, Tithonia diversifolia, Lantana camara, Chromolaena odorata and Prosopis juliflora). Although invasive alien plants pose substantial threats to the integrity of the ecosystem, this has not yet been widely recognised. We predict that in the absence of efforts to contain, or reverse the spread of invasive alien plants, the condition of rangelands will deteriorate, with severe negative impacts on migrating large mammals, especially wildebeest, zebra and gazelles. This will, in turn, have a substantial negative impact on tourism, which is a major economic activity in the area.Conservation implications: Invasive alien plants pose significant threats to the integrity of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem and steps will need to be taken to prevent these impacts. The most important of these would be the removal of alien species from tourist facilities, especially those which are known to be naturalised or invasive, the introduction of control programmes aimed at eliminating outlier invasive plant populations to slow down the spread, and the widespread use of biological control wherever possible.

scholarly journals Some regularities in the distribution of kenophytes in the Polish Carpathians and their foreland

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Zając ◽  
Adam Zając
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Migration Routes ◽  
Forest Zone ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
The Carpathians ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
Rivers And Streams ◽  
Polish Carpathians ◽  
River Valleys

Abstract The Polish Carpathians and their northern foreland are a rewarding object for the kenophyte distribution research. The study, using the cartogram method, showed that the number of kenophyte species decreases with increasing altitude. Only few kenophytes were found in the lower forest zone. This regularity concerns also the species that reach higher altitudes in the mountains of their native lands. A number of species migrated into the Carpathians through rivers and streams. River valleys generate many open habitats, which are easily colonized by kenophytes due to the lack of competition. In the Carpathians, towns used to be founded in the mountain valleys and this was also a favouring factor of kenophyte propagation. The arrangement of mountain ranges in the Polish Carpathians, including their foreland, hindered the migration of some species and allowed to discover the possible migration routes into the area covered by research. Tracing these migration routes was possible only for those species that have not occupied the whole available area yet. Additionally, the study indicated the most dangerous invasive species in the Polish Carpathians and their foreland.

scholarly journals Major environmental factors and traits of invasive alien plants determine their spatial distribution: a case study in Korea

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Minwoo Oh ◽  
Yoonjeong Heo ◽  
Eun Ju Lee ◽  
Hyohyemi Lee
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Invasive Plants ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Summer Temperature ◽  
Alien Plant Species ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Cold Spots

Abstract Background As trade increases, the influx of various alien species and their spread to new regions are prevalent, making them a general problem globally. Anthropogenic activities and climate change have led to alien species becoming distributed beyond their native range. As a result, alien species can be easily found anywhere, with the density of individuals varying across locations. The prevalent distribution of alien species adversely affects invaded ecosystems; thus, strategic management plans must be established to control them effectively. To this end, this study evaluated hotspots and cold-spots in the degree of distribution of invasive alien plant species, and major environmental factors related to hot spots were identified. We analyzed 10,287 distribution points of 126 species of alien plant species collected through a national survey of alien species using the hierarchical model of species communities (HMSC) framework. Results The explanatory and fourfold cross-validation predictive power of the model were 0.91 and 0.75 as area under the curve (AUC) values, respectively. Hotspots of invasive plants were found in the Seoul metropolitan area, Daegu metropolitan city, Chungcheongbuk-do Province, southwest shore, and Jeju Island. Hotspots were generally found where the highest maximum summer temperature, winter precipitation, and road density were observed. In contrast, seasonality in temperature, annual temperature range, precipitation during summer, and distance to rivers and the sea were negatively correlated to hotspots. The model showed that functional traits accounted for 55% of the variance explained by environmental factors. Species with a higher specific leaf area were found where temperature seasonality was low. Taller species were associated with a larger annual temperature range. Heavier seed mass was associated with a maximum summer temperature > 29 °C. Conclusions This study showed that hotspots contained 2.1 times more alien plants on average than cold-spots. Hotspots of invasive plants tended to appear under less stressful climate conditions, such as low fluctuations in temperature and precipitation. In addition, disturbance by anthropogenic factors and water flow positively affected hotspots. These results were consistent with previous reports on the ruderal and competitive strategies of invasive plants, not the stress-tolerant strategy. Our results supported that the functional traits of alien plants are closely related to the ecological strategies of plants by shaping the response of species to various environmental filters. Therefore, to control alien plants effectively, the occurrence of disturbed sites where alien plants can grow in large quantities should be minimized, and the waterfront of rivers must be managed.

Invasive alien plants in China: role of clonality and geographical origin

2006 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 1461-1470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Liu ◽  
Ming Dong ◽  
Shi Li Miao ◽  
Zhen Yu Li ◽  
Ming Hua Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Origin ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Invasive Alien Plants

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

NeoBiota ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Microbial Communities in the Fynbos Region of South Africa: What Happens during Woody Alien Plant Invasions

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 254
Author(s):  
Karin Jacobs ◽  
Tersia Conradie ◽  
Shayne Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Plant Invasions ◽  
Cape Floristic Region ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Microbial Populations ◽  
Invasive Alien Plants ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
The Common ◽  
Insight Into

The Cape Floristic Region (CFR) is globally known for its plant biodiversity, and its flora is commonly referred to as fynbos. At the same time, this area is under severe pressure from urbanization, agricultural expansion and the threat of invasive alien plants. Acacia, Eucalyptus and Pinus are the common invasive alien plants found across the biome and considerable time, effort and resources are put into the removal of invasive alien plants and the rehabilitation of native vegetation. Several studies have shown that invasion not only affects the composition of plant species, but also has a profound effect on the soil chemistry and microbial populations. Over the last few years, a number of studies have shown that the microbial populations of the CFR are unique to the area, and harbour many endemic species. The extent of the role they play in the invasion process is, however, still unclear. This review aims to provide an insight into the current knowledge on the different microbial populations from this system, and speculate what their role might be during invasion. More importantly, it places a spotlight on the lack of information about this process.

scholarly journals Distributional Patterns of Alien Plants in China: The Relative Importance of Phylogenetic History and Functional Attributes

ISRN Ecology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Youhua Chen
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
Functional Limitation ◽  
Environmental Filtering ◽  
Mantel Test ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Reproduction Mode ◽  
Functional Attributes ◽  
Compositional Patterns

Distribution patterns of alien species in nonnative ranges might be driven by a combination of various mechanisms, including phylogenetic history, competition for resource, environmental filtering, and so on. Both phylogenetic and functional limitations might work synergistically to determine the distribution of alien species. In this report, by utilizing the information of provincial distribution, functional attributes, and phylogeny for 95 alien species of China, the corresponding phylogenetic and functional community structures are evaluated. The results show that introduction pathway, life form, and flowering time of alien plants of China processed significant phylogenetic clustering patterns, while both the origin of distribution and reproduction mode of alien species showed phylogenetic overdispersion patterns, as revealed by NRI/NTI indices. The phylogenetic signal tests using Pagel’s statistic and Blomberg et al.’s statistic further verified the previous patterns, even though there are some inconsistencies. Through partial Mantel test, it is found that compositional patterns of alien plant community were mainly affected by phylogenetic limitation but not functional limitation. Conclusively, phylogeny plays a more important role in structuring provincial distribution of alien plants in China.

Climatic Fluctuations Reflected in Slope and Fluvial Systems of Polish Carpathians and their Foreland During Upper Quaternary

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leszek Starkel
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Differentiation ◽  
Fluvial Systems ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Polish Carpathians ◽  
Continuous Sedimentation ◽  
Longitudinal Profiles ◽  
River Valleys

AbstractOn continents, besides lake and bogs, we observe non-continuous sedimentation where particular layers or whole members represent time intervals of various lengths separated by breaks of different origin. Both, fluvial and slope sediments or forms carry climatic signal. By analyzing sources of sediments, factors of transfer, duration of deposition we reconstruct climatic changes (mainly temperature, precipitations and circulation of water). We order the collected records after age and tracing longitudinal profiles of slopes and river valleys. The slopes and valley floors inform us about spatial differentiation of extreme climatic-hydrological events and on their reflection in degradation or aggradation. All this information sums up the records collected in various projects or commissions like IGCP-158 and GLOCOPH (Starkel ed. 1982–1996; Starkel et al. 2007), Climatostratigraphy of the Holocene of Polish territory (Starkel et al. 2013) as well INTIMATE (Starkel et al. 2015; Gębica et al. 2015). It may be concluded that fluctuations in temperature combined with expansion of permafrost were the leading factors in transformation of landscape of analyzed area of Southern Poland during last cold stage, which is in contrary to the Holocene, when variations in humidity especially in frequency of extreme events played a leading role. The continental records very well express the role of transitional phases.

scholarly journals The Rate of Regeneration of Native Plant Species After Eradication of Invasive Alien Plant Species (Acacia Decurrens Willd.) in the Limpopo Province, South Africa.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melford Mbedzi ◽  
Milingoni Peter Tshisikhawe ◽  
Sebataolo Rahlao ◽  
Innocent Ndidzulafhi Sinthumule
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Permanent Plots ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Invasive Alien Plants ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Invasive Alien Plant

Abstract Riparian invasive alien plants are known to compete with native plant species for water, space, daylight, and different other resources by decreasing structural diversity of native vegetation and subsequently changing the functioning of the ecosystem. The aim of this study was to investigate the rate of native plant species recolonization after the eradication of A. decurrens. The investigation was done in the Waterberg District Municipality, Limpopo Province in a farm, which is highly infested with A. decurrens. Twenty-four permanent plots of 10 m x 10 m were constructed and the A. decurrens individuals in the plots were removed and the area was monitored for a period of 2 years. The size of quadrats was based on the size and distribution of the invasive alien plants which develop in an aggregated form and have exceptionally small canopies.

The emerging invasive alien plants of the Drakensberg Alpine Centre, southern Africa

Bothalia ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Carbutt
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Ability ◽  
Plant Invasions ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Invasive Alien Plants ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Invasive Alien Plant ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Disturbed Habitats

An ‘early detection’-based desktop study has identified 23 taxa as ‘current’ emerging invasive alien plants in the Drakensberg Alpine Centre (DAC) and suggests a further 27 taxa as probable emerging invaders in the future. These 50 species are predicted to become problematic invasive plants in the DAC because they possess the necessary invasive attributes and have access to potentially suitable habitat that could result in them becoming major invaders. Most of the ‘current’ emerging invasive alien plant species of the DAC are of a northern-temperate affinity and belong to the families Fabaceae and Rosaceae (four taxa each), followed by Boraginaceae and Onagraceae (two taxa each). In terms of functional type (growth form), most taxa are shrubs (9), followed by herbs (8), tall trees (5), and a single climber. The need to undertake a fieldwork component is highlighted and a list of potential study sites to sample disturbed habitats is provided. A global change driver such as increased temperature is predicted to not only result in extirpation of native alpine species, but to also possibly render the environment more susceptible to alien plant invasions due to enhanced competitive ability and pre-adapted traits. A list of emerging invasive alien plants is essential to bring about swift management interventions to reduce the threat of such biological invasions.

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