Biology and Control Methods of the Alien Invasive Weed Mikania Micrantha: A Review

Abstract

Invasion of alien weed species is one of the most serious global problems. Different bioclimatic conditions of Nepal favor the introduction of different invasive alien weeds. Mikania micrantha (L.) Kunth is one of the well-established invasive alien weeds in the tropical and subtropical parts of eastern and central Nepal. M. micrantha was first reported in 1963 in the eastern part of Nepal and then spreading towards the western part, which is now recorded in over 20 Terai districts of Nepal. Its spread is causing a serious threat to native ecosystem and in the protected areas too, such as the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and the Chitwan National Park. It invades new areas by seed dispersal and, once established, it spreads locally by ramets produced by penetrating rosette caudices and ramet caudexes. This neotropical vine supplants other plants and reduces biodiversity significantly by swamping vegetation and out competing native plants. Regeneration of other plants in its invaded area is restricted due to its high dispersal ability and adaptability to colonize in new habitat and difficult to control if once established. Several measures have been attempted in controlling this weed, but till date little success has been achieved in Nepal. It is important to identify the control measures which are: socially acceptable; economically viable and spatially suitable. There is consumption of extra human resources and time for clearance of Mikania in their cultivated lands and also an extra expenditure is required to avoid the impact of Mikania which is affecting livelihood of local people. As M. micrantha grows rapidly and conventional control measures are costly and time consuming, biological control is seen as a feasible, environmentally friendly and self-sustaining option to control large stands of M. micrantha. Coevolved rust pathogen, Puccinia spegazzini has been reported to be able to control the weed and introduced in countries like India, Taiwan, China, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

Impact, management, and use of invasive alien plant species in Nepal’s protected area: a systematic review

“…Research by Murphy et al (2013) indicated that M. macrantha negatively impacts on habitat of the endangered one-horned rhinoceros in Chitwan National Park, affecting 44% of their habitat by suppressing grass growth and tree regeneration. In the terrestrial ecosystem of Chitwan National Park, M. macrantha is identified as the most severe weed that extends to the northern part of the core and buffer zone area weed as IAP (Poudel et al 2019). Mikania macrantha is invasive and affects vegetation structure and carbon sequestration in ecosystems (Ulak et al 2016), creating an unfavorable environment for the growth of native species.…”

Plant invasion in protected areas, the Indian Himalayan region, and the North East India: progress and prospects

“…Pioneering description of certain IAPs like Mikania micrantha in N.E. India rated these species as aggressive invaders, covering the canopy of even the tallest trees (Tripathi et al 2011;Poudel et al 2019). This aggressive spread of M. micrantha (family Asteraceae) in N.E.…”

Optimal Allocation Model of Plant Community in Slope Ecological Restoration

“…According to statistics, for every 1 km highway construction in our country, the area of bare slope is about 50-70,000 m 2 , and the area of slope formed by highway construction in our country is about 200-300 million m 2 every year. As a result, the area of high and steep bare rock slope is also increasing (Wood et al 2017), (Poudel et al, 2019). At present, one of the key technologies for artificial ecological restoration of such damaged slopes in China and abroad (such as hydraulic spraying, vegetation concrete slope protection greening, threedimensional vegetation net spraying grass planting, thick base material spraying vegetation slope protection, slope TBS vegetation slope protection greening, etc.)…”