scholarly journals Non-Native Invasive Species as Ecosystem Service Providers

Author(s):  
Barbara Sladonja ◽  
Danijela Poljuha ◽  
Mirela Uzelac

Web Ecology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corrado Battisti ◽  
Giuliano Fanelli ◽  
Sandro Bertolino ◽  
Luca Luiselli ◽  
Giovanni Amori ◽  
...  

Abstract. Many practices have been proposed in conservation education to facilitate a re-connection between nature and the young digital generation in anthropized contexts. In this paper we suggest that, at least in some specific circumstances (urban and suburban areas), non-native invasive species may have a paradoxical and positive impact in conservation education strategies, playing a role as an experiential tool, which represents a cultural ecosystem service, i.e. an ecosystem service that produces cultural benefits by improving pro-environmental behaviours in young people.



2014 ◽  
Vol 183 ◽  
pp. 103-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.M. Holland ◽  
J. Storkey ◽  
P.J.W. Lutman ◽  
T.C. Birkett ◽  
J. Simper ◽  
...  


Ecography ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 1283-1294 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kołodziej-Sobocińska ◽  
M. Brzeziński ◽  
A. Niemczynowicz ◽  
A. Zalewski


2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 328-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret E. Andrew ◽  
Michael A. Wulder ◽  
Trisalyn A. Nelson

Ecological and conservation research has provided a strong scientific underpinning to the modeling of ecosystem services (ESs) over space and time, by identifying the ecological processes and components of biodiversity (ecosystem service providers, functional traits) that drive ES supply. Despite this knowledge, efforts to map the distribution of ESs often rely on simple spatial surrogates that provide incomplete and non-mechanistic representations of the biophysical variables they are intended to proxy. However, alternative data sets are available that allow for more direct, spatially nuanced inputs to ES mapping efforts. Many spatially explicit, quantitative estimates of biophysical parameters are currently supported by remote sensing, with great relevance to ES mapping. Additional parameters that are not amenable to direct detection by remote sensing may be indirectly modeled with spatial environmental data layers. We review the capabilities of modern remote sensing for describing biodiversity, plant traits, vegetation condition, ecological processes, soil properties, and hydrological variables and highlight how these products may contribute to ES assessments. Because these products often provide more direct estimates of the ecological properties controlling ESs than the spatial proxies currently in use, they can support greater mechanistic realism in models of ESs. By drawing on the increasing range of remote sensing instruments and measurements, data sets appropriate to the estimation of a given ES can be selected or developed. In so doing, we anticipate rapid progress to the spatial characterization of ecosystem services, in turn supporting ecological conservation, management, and integrated land use planning.



Author(s):  
Morgan Shields ◽  
Jean-Marie Tompkins ◽  
David J Saville ◽  
Colin D Meurk ◽  
Stephen Wratten

Vineyards worldwide occupy over 7 million hectares and are typically virtual monocultures, with high and costly inputs of water and agro-chemicals. Understanding and enhancing ecosystem services can reduce inputs and their costs and help satisfy market demands for evidence of more sustainable practices. In this New Zealand work, low-growing, endemic plant species were evaluated for their potential benefits as Service Providing Units (SPUs) or Ecosystem Service Providers (ESPs). The services provided were weed suppression, conservation of beneficial invertebrates, soil moisture retention and microbial activity. The potential Ecosystem Dis-services (EDS) from the selected plant species by hosting the larvae of a key vine moth pest, the light-brown apple moth (Epiphyas postvittana), was also quantified. Questionnaires were used to evaluate winegrowers’ perceptions of the value of and problems associated with such endemic plant species in their vineyards. Growth and survival rates of the 14 plant species, in eight families, were evaluated, with Leptinella dioica (Asteraceae) and Acaena inermis ‘purpurea’ (Rosaceae) having the highest growth rates in terms of area covered and the highest survival rate after 12 months. All 14 plant species suppressed weeds, with Leptinella squalida, Geranium sessiliforum (Geraniaceae), Hebe chathamica (Plantaginaceae), Scleranthus uniflorus (Caryophyllaceae) and L. dioica, each reducing weed cover by > 95%. Plant species also differed in the diversity of arthropod taxa that they supported, with the Shannon Wiener diversity index (H') for these arthropods ranging from 0 to 1.3. G. sessiliforum and Muehlenbeckia axillaris (Polygonaceae) had the highest invertebrate diversity. Density of spiders was correlated with arthropod diversity and G. sessiliflorum and H. chathamica had the highest densities of these arthropods. Several plant species led to higher soil moisture content than in control plots. The best performing species in this context were A. inermis ‘purpurea’ and Lobelia angulata (Lobeliaceae). Soil beneath all plant species had a higher microbial activity than in control plots, with L. dioica being highest in this respect. Survival proportion to the adult stage of the moth pest, E. postvittana, on all plant species was poor (<0.3). When judged by a ranking combining multiple criteria, the most promising plant species were (in decreasing order) G. sessiliflorum, A. inermis ‘purpurea’, H. chathamica, M. axillaris, L. dioica, L. angulata, L. squalida and S. uniflorus. Winegrowers surveyed said that they probably would deploy endemic plants around their vines. This research demonstrates that enhancing plant diversity in vineyards can deliver SPUs, harbour ESPs and therefore deliver ES. The data also shows that growers are willing to follow these protocols, with appropriate advice founded on sound research.





HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 493e-493
Author(s):  
Edward McWilliams ◽  
Gretchen Rector

For decades, the Texas A&M Univ. campus has been a center for USDA ornamental plant introductions. Historically, horticultural nurseries on the Texas A&M Univ. campus have served as foci from which exotic plants have dispersed and colonized surrounding areas. Pistachia chinensis, Ulmus parvifolia, Ligustrum quihoui, Ligustrum lucidum, and Sapium sebiferum have all established themselves on or near the campus and can be traced back to early introductions. Many Ligustrum taxa including selections of L. quihoui were screened at Texas A&M College in the 1930s. Clones of this species varied greatly in their ability to naturalize. The invasion lag phase and range of expansion varied with both clone and species. It is suggested that potential exotic ornamental plant introductions be carefully evaluated for their potential to become non-native invasive species as well as for their ornamental characteristics.



Author(s):  
Lauren M. Smith-Ramesh

Abstract Allelopathy, or the process by which plants influence the growth and performance of their neighbours through the release of chemicals, may play a key role in mediating the impacts of non-native invasive species on their neighbours. The Novel Weapons Hypothesis purports that non-native invasive species are in part successful because they produce harmful allelochemicals to which resident species are particularly susceptible because residents lack a shared evolutionary history with the invader. While allelopathic non-native invaders may reduce the growth and performance of neighbours through direct phytotoxicity, they may more often exert negative impacts through disruption of biotic interactions among resident species. Allelopathy by non-native plants may disrupt mutualisms between resident plants and microbes, plant-herbivore interactions or existing competitive and facilitative interactions among resident plants. For example, several non-native plants are known to disrupt the mutualism between resident plants and mycorrhizal fungi, reducing resident plant fitness to the benefit of the invader. Allelopathic non-natives may also disrupt interactions among resident plants and their herbivores when allelochemicals also influence herbivore behaviour or fitness. Alternatively, biotic interactions can also be protective for resident species, which may be less susceptible to the impacts of non-native species when their mutualisms are intact. As we advance our understanding of allelopathy and its role in mediating the impacts of invasive plant species, we may gain new insights by viewing invasions within a network context rather than focusing on pairwise interactions.



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