Non-native species in the vascular flora of highlands and mountains of Iceland

The highlands and mountains of Iceland are one of the largest remaining wilderness areas in Europe. This study aimed to provide comprehensive and up-to-date data on non-native plant species in these areas and to answer the following questions: (1) How many non-native vascular plant species inhabit highland and mountainous environments in Iceland? (2) Do temporal trends in the immigration of alien species to Iceland differ between highland and lowland areas? (3) Does the incidence of alien species in the disturbed and undisturbed areas within Icelandic highlands differ? (4) Does the spread of non-native species in Iceland proceed from lowlands to highlands? and (5) Can we detect hot-spots in the distribution of non-native taxa within the highlands? Overall, 16 non-native vascular plant species were detected, including 11 casuals and 5 naturalized taxa (1 invasive). Results showed that temporal trends in alien species immigration to highland and lowland areas are similar, but it is clear that the process of colonization of highland areas is still in its initial phase. Non-native plants tended to occur close to man-made infrastructure and buildings including huts, shelters, roads etc. Analysis of spatio-temporal patterns showed that the spread within highland areas is a second step in non-native plant colonization in Iceland. Several statically significant hot spots of alien plant occurrences were identified using the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic and these were linked to human disturbance. This research suggests that human-mediated dispersal is the main driving force increasing the risk of invasion in Iceland’s highlands and mountain areas.

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Non-native species in the vascular flora of highlands and mountains of Iceland

10.7287/peerj.preprints.1165v2 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Pawel Wasowicz

Keyword(s):

Native Species ◽

Hot Springs ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

Temporal Trends ◽

Plant Colonization ◽

Native Plant ◽

Mountain Areas ◽

Native Plant Species ◽

Alien Flora ◽

Wilderness Areas

The highlands and mountains of Iceland (defined here as areas located above 400 m a.s.l) are one of the largest remaining wilderness areas in Europe. The present study provides the first comprehensive and up-to-date data on non-native plant species from these wilderness areas. Overall, 16 non-native vascular plant specieswere detected, including 11 casuals and 5 naturalised taxa (1 invasive). Results showed that the central highlands are most vulnerable to non-native plant colonisation, while other mountain and highland areas in Iceland seem to be far less impacted by non-native plants. Clear hotspots of alien flora are evident, especially in popular tourist areas in the highlands and mountains such as hot springs, geothermal areas, mountain huts and shelters, as well as main roads and tracks. Temporal trends characterizing non-native plant colonization show that the process is still in its initial phase. This research suggests that human-mediated dispersal is the main driving force increasing the risk of invasion in Icelandic highlands and mountain areas.

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Non-native species in the vascular flora of highlands and mountains of Iceland

10.7287/peerj.preprints.1165v3 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Pawel Wasowicz

Keyword(s):

Alien Species ◽

Plant Species ◽

Hot Spots ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

Temporal Trends ◽

Second Step ◽

Plant Colonization ◽

Native Plant ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Vascular Plant Species

The highlands and mountains of Iceland, defined here as areas located above 400 m above sea level (m.a.s.l.) are one of the largest remaining wilderness areas in Europe. The present study was aimed to provide the first comprehensive and up-to-date data on non-native plant species from this region. The study was aimed to answer the following questions: (1) How many non-native vascular plant species inhabit highland and mountainous environments in Iceland? (2) Do temporal trends in alien species immigration to Iceland and highland areas differ? (3) Do human disturbed and undisturbed areas within Icelandic highlands differ in terms of alien species occurrence? (4) Is spread within the highland areas a second step in alien plant colonization? and (5) Can we point out hot-spots in the distribution of non native taxa within highlands? Overall, 16 non-native vascular plant species were detected, including 11 casuals and 5 naturalized taxa (1 invasive). Results showed that temporal trends in alien species immigration to Iceland and to highland areas are similar, but it is clear that the process of colonization of highland areas is still in its initial phase. It was evidenced that non-native plants tend to occur close to man-made infrastructure and buildings including huts, shelters, road network etc. Analysis of spatio-temporal patterns showed that the spread within highland areas is a second step in non-native plant colonization in Iceland. Several statically significant hot spots of alien plant occurrences were be identified using Getis-Ord Gi* statistic and linked to human disturbance. This research suggests that human-mediated dispersal is the main driving force increasing the risk of invasion in Icelandic highlands and mountain areas.

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Non-native species in the vascular flora of highlands and mountains of Iceland

10.7287/peerj.preprints.1165 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Pawel Wasowicz

Keyword(s):

Alien Species ◽

Plant Species ◽

Hot Spots ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

Temporal Trends ◽

Second Step ◽

Plant Colonization ◽

Native Plant ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Vascular Plant Species

The highlands and mountains of Iceland, defined here as areas located above 400 m above sea level (m.a.s.l.) are one of the largest remaining wilderness areas in Europe. The present study was aimed to provide the first comprehensive and up-to-date data on non-native plant species from this region. The study was aimed to answer the following questions: (1) How many non-native vascular plant species inhabit highland and mountainous environments in Iceland? (2) Do temporal trends in alien species immigration to Iceland and highland areas differ? (3) Do human disturbed and undisturbed areas within Icelandic highlands differ in terms of alien species occurrence? (4) Is spread within the highland areas a second step in alien plant colonization? and (5) Can we point out hot-spots in the distribution of non native taxa within highlands? Overall, 16 non-native vascular plant species were detected, including 11 casuals and 5 naturalized taxa (1 invasive). Results showed that temporal trends in alien species immigration to Iceland and to highland areas are similar, but it is clear that the process of colonization of highland areas is still in its initial phase. It was evidenced that non-native plants tend to occur close to man-made infrastructure and buildings including huts, shelters, road network etc. Analysis of spatio-temporal patterns showed that the spread within highland areas is a second step in non-native plant colonization in Iceland. Several statically significant hot spots of alien plant occurrences were be identified using Getis-Ord Gi* statistic and linked to human disturbance. This research suggests that human-mediated dispersal is the main driving force increasing the risk of invasion in Icelandic highlands and mountain areas.

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Biogeography of island floras in the Great Lakes. II. Plant dispersal

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b89-229 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 67 (6) ◽

pp. 1803-1820 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

J. K. Morton ◽

E. H. Hogg

Keyword(s):

Great Lakes ◽

Alien Species ◽

Plant Species ◽

Native Species ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

Species Dispersal ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Plant Dispersal ◽

Alien Flora ◽

Nesting Sites

Experimental and observational data were used to determine the adaptations for dispersal in each of the 335 vascular plant species in the flora of Barrier Island, a typical limestone island in the Great Lakes. Most have adaptations for more than one mode of dispersal. Adaptations for dispersal by water were found in 211 species (63% of the flora), and by birds in 205 species (61% of the flora); only 22 species (6.5% of the flora) do not appear to have effective adaptations for dispersal by either of these means. The other three modes of dispersal to these islands are by wind (14% of plant species), dispersal across snow and ice (10%), and by man (6%). Alien species (23% of the flora) show greater dependence on birds (85% of the alien species) and man (12% of the alien species) for dispersal than do native species (54 and 5%, respectively). Sea gulls, particularly the Herring Gull (Larus delawarensis Ord.), are the major factor in the introduction of the alien flora. The heavily disturbed habitats created in the nesting sites of both Herring and Ring-billed (Larus argentatus Pontoppidan) gulls favour the persistence of many alien plant species on these islands.

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ILORA: A database of alien vascular flora of India

10.1101/2021.05.28.446252 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Vidushi Pant ◽

Chinmay Patwardhan ◽

Kshitij Patil ◽

Amiya Ranjan Bhowmick ◽

Abhishek Mukherjee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Information Exchange ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

Plant Invasions ◽

Quality Data ◽

Easy Access ◽

Alien Plant Species ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Research Activities ◽

Alien Flora

Plant invasions pose an unprecedented threat to biodiversity and ecosystems at different spatial scales, especially for a biodiversity-rich developing nation like India. While country-level checklists are considered as the first step for effective management of plant invasions, databases having biological and ecological attributes of these plant species are of paramount importance for facilitating research activities and developing policy interventions concerning alien plant invasion in a country or region. Though checklists with the names and basic details of alien plant species are available for India, a database aggregating attributes relevant to the understanding of the invasion continuum is lacking. We have curated data for 13 variables related to ecology, biogeography, introduction history, socio-economy and environmental niche of 1747 alien vascular plant species from 22 national and global sources to produce the Indian Alien Flora Information (ILORA) version 1.0 database. This paper describes the detailed methodology of curating these data along with the logic behind selecting these variables to be included in the database. The database, first of its kind for the Indian alien flora, will provide easy access to high quality data, offer a ready reference to comprehend the existing scenario of alien plant species in the country and provide opportunities to identify, scrutinize and prioritize the management of these species. The database is dynamic and will be continuously updated with the availability of new data. It has the provision for bidirectional information exchange with the users, which will allow increasing the resolution of the database as well as the expansion of its capacity. All data will be associated with the source information and ILORA will encourage users to refer to the primary sources to give the contributors full credit and acknowledgement. The database is, therefore, envisaged to become a nationwide collaborative platform for a wide spectrum of stakeholders involving the scientific community, citizens, and policymakers. ILORA is freely accessible via an online data repository as well as through a dedicated website (https://ilora2020.wixsite.com/ilora2020).

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Passive Reestablishment of Riparian Vegetation Following Removal of Invasive Knotweed (Polygonum)

Invasive Plant Science and Management ◽

10.1614/ipsm-d-12-00070.1 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 208-218 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Shannon M. Claeson ◽

Peter A. Bisson

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Plant Species ◽

Native Species ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

Tree Cover ◽

Native Plant ◽

Japanese Knotweed ◽

Vegetative Cover ◽

Reference Sites ◽

Habitat Features

AbstractJapanese knotweed and congeners are invasive to North America and Europe and spread aggressively along rivers establishing dense monotypic stands, thereby reducing native riparian plant diversity, structure, and function. Noxious weed control programs attempt to eradicate the knotweed with repeated herbicide applications under the assumption that the system will recover to a native assemblage which will inhibit future invasions. However, eradication efficacy studies typically only measure the amount of knotweed reduced, not the reestablished species diversity or plant origins. For a community scale efficacy study, we measured vascular plant species diversity and cover in riparian areas along five rivers in Washington State, 3 to 6 years after Bohemian knotweed was initially treated with herbicide. Plant species composition was compared between riparian sites treated to remove knotweed and reference sites where knotweed was absent. Sites where knotweed had been removed had significantly more exotic species and vegetative cover than reference sites; however, native species richness and cover were greater in reference sites and areas with more overstory vegetation. The native plants observed were primarily shade tolerant and perennial, as opposed to many of the exotics, which were shade-intolerant annuals. In general, reestablishment of native and exotic vegetation was not related to pretreatment knotweed stem count, size of the invaded area, or timing of herbicide application. However, residual native tree cover was negatively correlated with initial knotweed stem count. Monitoring the success of restoration objectives (e.g., native plant reestablishment or increased species diversity) and characterizing associated habitat features following knotweed eradication will help in the development of site-specific protocols for successful plant community scale restoration.

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Alien flora of Oman: invasion status, taxonomic composition, habitats, origin, and pathways of introduction

Biological Invasions ◽

10.1007/s10530-021-02711-4 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Annette Patzelt ◽

Petr Pyšek ◽

Jan Pergl ◽

Mark van Kleunen

Keyword(s):

Alien Species ◽

Plant Species ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

Plant Invasions ◽

Taxonomic Composition ◽

Alien Plant Species ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Alien Flora ◽

In The Wild ◽

Status Assessment

AbstractWe present the first inventory and status assessment of the alien flora of Oman, mainly based on field data collected from 1998 to 2021. The study provides (i) a comprehensive account of alien vascular plant species occurring in the wild in Oman, with information on their taxonomic composition. For each species information is given on (ii) invasion status (casual, naturalized or invasive), biogeography, habitat and life-form characteristics, and pathways of introduction. Further, we (iii) explain the differences in the alien species composition in different parts of the country, and (iv) analyse the drivers of plant invasions in Oman. Out of the 111 alien species reported (7.7% of the total Oman vascular flora), 34 species are casuals and 77 naturalized; of the latter seven are considered invasive. The moderate number of alien plant species is likely a result of the country’s arid climate, with extremely high summer temperatures and low annual precipitation in most of its area, and the relatively long isolation of the country. The families richest in alien plant species are Fabaceae (17 species), Asteraceae (14 species) and Poaceae (12 species). More alien plants were found in northern Oman (82 species) than in southern Oman (60 species), and very few species are recorded from the central desert (7 species). The main habitats colonized were man-made habitats, either ruderal or agricultural. Most species alien to Oman are native to South America (49 species) or North America (43 species). This inventory provides a knowledge base for developing a national management strategy for alien vascular plants in Oman.

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Alien plant invasions in Mediterranean habitats: an assessment for Sicily

Biological Invasions ◽

10.1007/s10530-021-02561-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Riccardo Guarino ◽

Milan Chytrý ◽

Fabio Attorre ◽

Flavia Landucci ◽

Corrado Marcenò

Keyword(s):

Alien Species ◽

Native Species ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Plant Invasions ◽

Life Forms ◽

Habitat Specificity ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Alien Flora ◽

The Impact

AbstractLevels of plant invasions in different habitat types were assessed in several regional studies, but few of them were from the Mediterranean. Here we compare the levels of vascular plant invasion across habitats and plant communities of Sicily. We used a large dataset of plant species presences/absences in vegetation plots to analyze the invasion patterns across habitats considering biogeography, life form and phenology of alien plants. Vegetation plots were classified based on the EUNIS classification of European habitats. The invasiveness of each species was expressed in terms of its absolute and percentage frequency. Representation of different life forms and phenological patterns was compared between alien and native species. The fidelity of alien species to individual habitats was calculated using the phi coefficient. Our analysis shows that annual and woody species are the most represented life forms in the alien flora of Sicily and that alien species tend to have a longer flowering period than the native species. The investigated habitats differed strongly in their level of invasion by alien species, ranging from 0 to 15.6% of aliens of all species recorded. Most of the habitats were colonized by very few alien species or completely lacked them, except for sandy coasts, naturally-disturbed riverbeds, and synanthropic habitats. It must be noted, however, that the number of alien species occurring in a given habitat does not relate to the severity of the impact of invasion in that habitat. Some habitats are invaded by few (or single) species, which attain a high cover, transforming the whole ecosystem. The habitat-based approach proved to be suitable for evaluating the habitat specificity and frequency of alien species at a regional scale, improving the capacity for risk assessment in different ecological contexts.

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Hosts of Raoiella indica Hirst (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) Native to the Brazilian Amazon

Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.5539/jas.v9n4p86 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 86 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Cristina A. Gómez-Moya ◽

Talita P. S. Lima ◽

Elisângela G. F. Morais ◽

Manoel G. C. Gondim Jr. ◽

Gilberto J. De Moraes

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Native Species ◽

Brazilian Amazon ◽

Intrinsic Rate Of Increase ◽

Native Plant ◽

Instantaneous Rate ◽

Net Reproductive Rate ◽

Musa Paradisiaca ◽

Rate Of Increase ◽

Raoiella Indica

The expansion of red palm mite (RPM), Raoiella indica (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) in Brazil could impact negatively the native plant species, especially of the family Arecaceae. To determine which species could be at risk, we investigated the development and reproductive potential of R. indica on 19 plant species including 13 native species to the Brazilian Amazon (12 Arecaceae and one Heliconiaceae), and six exotic species, four Arecaceae, a Musaceae and a Zingiberaceae. Values of the instantaneous rate of increase (ri) were initially estimated at 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after infestation of each species. Higher values of ri (> 0.05) were determined on the Arecaceae Adonidia merrillii, Astrocaryum jauari, Cocos nucifera, Bactris simplicifrons, Mauritia flexuosa, Phoenix dactylifera and Socratea exorrhiza, and on the Heliconiaceae Heliconia psittacorum Sassy; these were classified as “potential primary hosts”. Lower, but still positive values of ri (0-0.05) were determined on the Arecaceae Bactris maraja, Oenocarpus bacaba, Oenocarpus bataua and on the Musaceae Musa × paradisiaca (Prata variety); these were classified as “potential secondary hosts”. Negative values of ri were determined for the remaining plants, i.e., the Arecaceae Astrocaryum aculeatum, Attalea maripa, Bactris gasipaes, Elaeis guineensis, Euterpe oleracea, Euterpe precatoria, and the Zingiberaceae Alpinia rosea; these were considered “non-hosts”. Species with ri < 0.05 were considered not to be threatened by the RPM. Biological parameters of RPM were evaluated on the plant species with positive ri (except B. maraja) and two native species with negative ri (E. oleracea and E. precatoria). Mean developmental time ranged from 14.7 days on C. nucifera to 21.4 days on Musa × paradisiaca, showing a significant influence of the plant substrate. Immature viability, oviposition rate, net reproductive rate (R0) and intrinsic rate of increase (rm) were affected by the plant species.

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