scholarly journals Potential Risks of Plant Invasions in Protected Areas of Sri Lanka under Climate Change with Special Reference to Threatened Vertebrates

Climate ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Champika S. Kariyawasam ◽  
Lalit Kumar ◽  
Sujith S. Ratnayake
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Plant Invasions ◽  
Alien Plant Species ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Tropical Island ◽  
Invasive Alien Plant ◽  
Climate Suitability ◽  
Potential Risks

There is substantial global concern over the potential impacts of plant invasions on native biodiversity in protected areas (PAs). Protected areas in tropical island countries that host rich biodiversity face an imminent risk from the potential spread of invasive alien plant species. Thus, the aim of this study was to gain a general understanding of the potential risks of multiple plant invasions in PAs located in the tropical island of Sri Lanka under projected climate change. We conducted a further analysis of a multi-species climate suitability assessment, based on a previous study using the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modeling approach, and tested how species invasion may change in protected areas under climate change. We evaluated how the climate suitability of 14 nationally recognized invasive alien plant species (IAPS) will vary within PAs and outside PAs by 2050 under two climate change scenarios, representative concentration pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5. Our findings suggest that there will be increased risks from multiple IAPS inside PAs and outside PAs in Sri Lanka in the future; however, the potential risk is comparatively less in PAs. We provide an overview of the species richness of selected threatened vertebrate groups, which can be potentially impacted by IAPS in PAs. The findings of this study highlight important implications for the strategic management of plant invasions in PAs in order to safeguard native biodiversity, with special reference to vertebrates.

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

Entropy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 571 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Dynamics of invasive alien plant species in China under climate change scenarios

2021 ◽  
Vol 129 ◽  
pp. 107919
Author(s):  
Wenqin Tu ◽  
Qinli Xiong ◽  
Xiaoping Qiu ◽  
Yongmei Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Alien Plant Species ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Invasive Alien Plant

scholarly journals Status and impacts of invasive alien plant species in Parsa National Park, central Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Chaudhary ◽  
B. B. Shrestha ◽  
H. Thapa ◽  
M. Siwakoti
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Invasive Alien Species ◽  
Plant Invasions ◽  
Tree Regeneration ◽  
Alien Plant Species ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Invasive Alien Plant

Extent of plant invasions has been expected to be low in protected areas such as national parks due to low anthropogenic activities and high wilderness. However, recent researches across the world have revealed that plant invasions can be severe in the national parks with negative impacts on the protected species and ecosystems. Unfortunately, the status of plant invasions in the national parks of Nepal is mostly unknown. In this study, we sampled at seven locations inside the Parsa National Park (PNP) to document diversity and abundance of invasive alien plant species (IAPS) and their impacts on tree regeneration. Altogether, 130 quadrats of 10 m × 10 m were sampled. We recorded 14 IAPS in the PNP. Three of the IAPS (Chromolana odorata, Lantana camara and Mikania micrantha) were among the 100 of the world’s worst invasive alien species. C. odorata was found to be the most frequent IAPS with the highest cover. The frequency and cover of the IAPS were higher at the sites close to the settlements than at the sites away from the settlements. The species richness of the IAPS was also higher at the sites closer to the settlements than away. The sapling density of the tree species was found to have declined with the increasing cover of the IAPS suggesting that the IAPS had negatively affected tree regeneration. Our data revealed that the PNP has already witnessed massive plant invasions with widespread occurrence of three of the world’s worst invasive species. Therefore, it is high time to integrate management of invasive alien species in the management plan of the park.

scholarly journals Understanding the dynamics in distribution of invasive alien plant species under predicted climate change in Western Himalaya

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. e0195752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunil Thapa ◽  
Vishwas Chitale ◽  
Srijana Joshi Rijal ◽  
Neha Bisht ◽  
Bharat Babu Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Western Himalaya ◽  
Alien Plant Species ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Invasive Alien Plant

scholarly journals Invasive alien plant species dynamics in the Himalayan region under climate change

AMBIO ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 697-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pramod Lamsal ◽  
Lalit Kumar ◽  
Achyut Aryal ◽  
Kishor Atreya
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Himalayan Region ◽  
Alien Plant Species ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Invasive Alien Plant ◽  
Species Dynamics

scholarly journals Invasive alien plants in Polish national parks—threats to species diversity

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e8034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Bomanowska ◽  
Wojciech Adamowski ◽  
Izabella Kirpluk ◽  
Anna Otręba ◽  
Agnieszka Rewicz
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Invasive Plants ◽  
National Park ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Alien Plant Species ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Reynoutria Japonica ◽  
Invasive Alien Plant

Due to the relevance of protected areas to the conservation of native biota, the magnitude of invasions and threats posed by alien plants are currently important issues for the preservation of these areas. The paper summarises data on invasive alien plant species presence in the most valuable protected areas in Poland, i.e. national parks (NPs). We investigated the distribution of invasive alien plant species and management attempts concerning those species. We analysed data obtained from 23 national parks originating from published and unpublished sources. Invasive plants were present in all protected areas analysed, from two to 42 species in a particular national park, and 68 in total. The most widely distributed species were: Impatiens parviflora (present in 19 NPs), I. glandulifera (17), Solidago gigantea (17), Reynoutria japonica (17), and Robinia pseudoacacia (16). The conducted analyses showed that the number of invasive species decreased with the higher altitude (asl) of the national park. The most often managed species were Impatiens glandulifera (being removed in seven NPs), I. parviflora (six), Padus serotina (four) and Quercus rubra (four). In the majority of NPs, control activities are limited to small areas and singular species, thus having an incidental character. Only in five objects (Białowieża NP, Biebrza NP, Kampinos NP, Tuchola NP, Wigry NP), management has been focused on several species. We conclude that a lack of comprehensive management of invasive plant species in the majority of national parks currently limits the effectiveness of IAS (invasive alien species) eradication. Exchange of expertise among protected areas, documenting best practice examples, synthesising lessons learnt in IAS management, as well as the development of minimum standards for invasive plants surveillance and management are pivotal.

Distribution and impact of invasive alien plant species in Bardia National Park, western Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-205
Author(s):  
Suneeta Bhatta ◽  
Laxmi Raj Joshi ◽  
Bharat Babu Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
National Park ◽  
Lantana Camara ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Alien Plant Species ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
Invasive Alien Plant

SummaryInvasive alien plant species (IAPS) are spreading into protected areas worldwide; however, knowledge of these invasions and their impacts in Nepal’s protected areas is poor. Here, the spatial distribution pattern of IAPS in Bardia National Park (BNP), Nepal, was analysed using roadside surveys and grid sampling. The impacts of the most abundant IAPS, Lantana camara, on plant communities were analysed by comparing 60 pairs of non-invaded and invaded quadrats. Twelve IAPS, including two of the most prolific species globally, L. camara and Chromolaena odorata, were recorded from BNP. The Karnali floodplain in the south-western region of the park, a prime habitat of one-horned rhinoceros, was highly invaded by the IAPS. Tree canopy and distance to road, river and settlement were the major factors affecting IAPS occurrence. Lantana camara modified plant community structure and significantly reduced plant species richness and diversity; species richness of native plants was reduced to less than half in invaded plots. Plant invasions and impacts on native plant diversity have been increasing in BNP. We recommend management interventions involving immediate eradication of C. odorata and other species with single satellite populations and control measures for other widespread species such as L. camara and Ageratum houstonianum.

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