Climate Change, Invasive Alien Flora and Concerns for their Management in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Climate is the key driver of diversity of life in ecosystems. Changes in the climate, would not only alter the spatial distribution of species but also facilitate some of the non-native species to become invasive. This would further imbalance the status quo of native species and may bring about irreversible changes in some ecosystems imposing large economic costs for their management. Few researchers have addressed the issue of the interaction of climate change and invasive species in developing countries. We review the ecological impacts of invasive alien flora on the environment and the necessity to assess the economics of these impacts, particularly in developing countries. The potential implications of climate change on invasive alien flora relevant to Sri Lanka are discussed, highlighting how disturbances to ecosystems during climate change would facilitate the dispersal, establishment and spread of these invasive species and result in a change in the species distribution of native flora within ecosystems. The management of invasive alien species is already formulated for Sri Lanka. We draw attention to how climate change aspects should be incorporated into these management strategies. Important aspects to be considered are assessment of risk, targeting ecosystems vulnerable to climate change and mapping to monitor the location and progress of invasive flora.

Naturalized alien flora of the Indian states: biogeographic patterns, taxonomic structure and drivers of species richness

“…A major improvement in this field occurred recently, with the compilation of such lists in the Global Naturalized Alien Flora (GloNAF) database (van Kleunen et al 2015;Pyšek et al 2017). While lists of naturalized species are available for some Asian countries such as China (Liu et al 2006;Wu et al 2010;Jiang et al 2011), Singapore (Corlett 1992), Hong Kong (Corlett 1992), Sri Lanka (Iqbal et al 2014), Nepal (Shrestha 2016) and Taiwan (Wu et al 2003(Wu et al , 2004aWu and Wang 2005), large parts of Asia are still data-deficient (van Kleunen et al 2015;Pyšek et al 2017).…”

Climate change impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems in Sri Lanka: a review

“…Ecosystems vulnerable to the changes in climate in Sri Lanka are the intensively cultivated agricultural lands, plantation croplands at high altitudes, montane forests and grasslands (Iqbal et al, 2014). A continuous flow of food production, coastal and marine resources, tourism and recreation etc.…”

“…In addition, the highest rate of decline in rainfall has also been shown to be in Nuwara Eliya (de Costa, 2008). Increasing trends of diurnal temperatures may extend the temperature boundaries for invasive alien plants (Iqbal et al, 2014). The occurrence of extended drought periods in the dry zone of Sri Lanka can increase the mortality of the native flora followed by replacement with invasive species.…”

“…The occurrence of extended drought periods in the dry zone of Sri Lanka can increase the mortality of the native flora followed by replacement with invasive species. The occurrence of floods can create ecosystem disturbances in conserved areas while facilitating the dispersal of seeds of invaders (Iqbal et al, 2014).…”

The invasive alien plants threatened the balance of ecosystem in conservative area in Ontoloe Island, Flores-Indonesia

“…Biodiversity in an ecosystem is threatened by global climates change [1] and the existing of invasive alien plants (Invasive Alien Species=IAS) [2,3,4]. The effect posed by the IAS in an ecosystem run continuously and at last will change the structure and composition of native vegetation until the degradation and the lost of a habitat [5].…”