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

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

Climate ◽

10.3390/cli8040051 ◽

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.

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Potential risks of Invasive Alien Plant Species on native plant biodiversity in Sri Lanka due to climate change

Biodiversity ◽

10.1080/14888386.2021.1905547 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Champika S. Kariyawasam ◽

Lalit Kumar ◽

Sujith S. Ratnayake ◽

D. S. A. Wijesundara

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Plant Species ◽

Plant Biodiversity ◽

Native Plant ◽

Alien Plant Species ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Invasive Alien Plant ◽

Potential Risks

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Potential risks of invasive alien plant species on agriculture under climate change scenarios in Sri Lanka

Current Research in Environmental Sustainability ◽

10.1016/j.crsust.2021.100051 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

pp. 100051

Author(s):

Champika S. Kariyawasam ◽

Lalit Kumar ◽

Sujith S. Ratnayake

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Plant Species ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Alien Plant Species ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Invasive Alien Plant ◽

Potential Risks

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

Ecological Indicators ◽

10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107919 ◽

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

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Invasive alien plant species of the southern part of the Nowogard Plain (NW Poland)

Biodiversity Research and Conservation ◽

10.2478/v10119-011-0007-9 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 31-38

Author(s):

Karolina Konopska

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Field Studies ◽

Invasive Plant Species ◽

Alien Plant Species ◽

Impatiens Glandulifera ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Reynoutria Japonica ◽

Invasive Alien Plant ◽

Nw Poland

Invasive alien plant species of the southern part of the Nowogard Plain (NW Poland)Investigations on the distribution of selected invasive plant species in southern part of the Nowogard Plain were conducted in the vegetation seasons of years 2008-2010. Field studies were based on the cartogram method. The article shows the distribution of twelve selected invasive plant species:Echinocystis lobata, Heracleum sosnowskyi, Impatiens glandulifera, Impatiens parvifora, Padus serotina, Reynoutria japonica, Robinia pseudacacia, Solidago canadensis, Solidago gigantea, Quercus rubra, Rosa rugosaandAcer negundoin the study area.

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Ecological risk assessment of potentially invasive alien plant species in Cibodas Biosphere Reserve, West Java, Indonesia

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ◽

10.1088/1755-1315/914/1/012035 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 914 (1) ◽

pp. 012035

Author(s):

A Handayani ◽

D I Junaedi ◽

E A M Zuhud

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Plant Species ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Biosphere Reserve ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Invasive Plant Species ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Core Zone ◽

Invasive Alien Plant ◽

Wedelia Trilobata

Abstract More than 80 potentially invasive plant species have spread throughout the Cibodas Biosphere Reserve, Indonesia. Recently, research has shown that the surrounding community utilizes more than 50% of these species. Although this utilization provides social and economic benefits, it threatens the Cibodas Biosphere Reserve core zone ecologically. Therefore, this study conducted a risk assessment to determine the invasiveness level of utilized plant species. The evaluation was performed using Hawaii and Pacific Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) scheme. The results show that almost all the potentially invasive plant species are high risk, with scores ranging from 10 to 26, except for Fragaria vesca and Mentha arvensis. The highest WRA score was obtained for Lantana camara and followed by Austroeupatorium inulifolium, Cobaea scandens, Mikania cordata, Sonchus asper, Clidemia hirta, Piper aduncum, Sonchus arvensis, Cestrum aurantiacum, Dracaena fragrans, Passiflora ligularis, Podachaenium eminens, Thunbergia coccinea, and Wedelia trilobata. As most of these species were herbaceous plants obtained from cultivated areas, the risk of invasion into the core zone is low. Based on the findings, the recommended management option to control these species is harvesting, accompanied by containment. Through this method, the community can continue to use the species while controlling the population, thereby limiting their spread.

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

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0195752 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. e0195752 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

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

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

Koedoe ◽

10.4102/koedoe.v59i1.1426 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 59 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 6

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.

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Impact of invasive alien plant species, Lantana camara, on the species composition, richness and evenness of invaded plant communities in Sidama, Gamogofa and Gedio Zones, Ethiopia

10.21203/rs.3.rs-943114/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Amare Seifu Assefa ◽

Ermias Lulekal Molla

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Plant Species ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Lantana Camara ◽

Economic Sectors ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Invasive Alien Plant ◽

Plant Families ◽

The Impact

Abstract Invasive alien species represent one of the major threats to biodiversity and all economic sectors. Lantana camara has been ranked as the highest impacting invasive plant species in the study areas. However, its impact on diversity and composition of invaded plant communities has not been well studied. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the impact of Lantana camara on species diversity and composition of invaded plant communities in the study areas. A total of 120, 10m X 10m plots were sampled so as to examine its effects of invasions on the species diversity and composition of invaded communities. A total of 109 species were found in the non-invaded areas as compared to 56 in the invaded areas. The number of species decreased by 48.6% in Lantana camara invaded areas as compared to the control. The mean evenness values of the entire invaded sampled study site and that of the control were 0.24 and 0.81 respectively. Thus, the heterogeneity of the invaded study sites was reduced by 57%. The number of plant families was 44 in the control areas in contrast to only 30 in the invaded areas. The number of plant families decreased by 31.8% in the invaded areas as compared to the control. Therefore, it was noted that Lantana camara has a serious impact on plant diversity hence the finding calls for an urgent management and control strategy against the spread of Lantana camara so as to save the ongoing threat to biodiversity.

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