Diversity and Distribution of Invasive Plant Species in Suburban Vegetation of Kashmir Himalayas

Abstract

Biological invasion has been considered one of the most important mechanisms of global change, posing serious threats to the conservation of native ecosystems worldwide. The present study was conducted in the subtropical vegetation stands in the suburban areas of Muzaffarabad city to study the diversity and distribution of invasive alien species (IAS) of plants and assess the factors responsible for their spread. A total of 9 sites, including 2 in the city and 7 in suburban areas, were sampled using random quadrate methods. The sampled flora were classified according to the phytogeographic origin and invasion status, whereas the phytosocioogoical attributes of plant communites were also calculated following standard protocols. A total of 121 plant species represented by 108 genera belonging to 58 families was recorded from the study area. Results revealed that 35.6% flora comprised of 43 species were recorded as IAS. The IAS dominating the area included Parthenium hysterophorus, Lantana camara, Xanthium strumarium, Ailanthus aItissima, Cannabis sativa, Broussonetia papyrifera, Arundo donax and Sorghum halepense. Analysis of the Invasion status revealed that invasive aliens had a weight of 46% followed by naturalized aliens and casual aliens, respectively. The dominance of invasive species resulted in decreased species diversity at the disturbed sites. Landslides and road construction were identified as factors promoting the establishment and spread of invasive species in the area. Principal component analysis revealed significant correlation of edaphic disturbances with the abundance of IAS. An integrated management system is recommended for early detection and control of IAS.

A Study on Three Major Forest Invasive Species Common Along the Shivalik Belt of Himachal Pradesh Kashmir, Punjab and Uttarakhand, India

“…In Kashmir, a total of 43 invasive alien plant species of 41 genera were found in the area, representing 25 families. Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Poaceae were among the notable families that contributed to the foreign crowd (Shaheen et al, 2019). Punjab with less forest cover has most invasive plants belonging to the Asteraceae family followed by Poaceae, Solanaceae, and Fabaceae.…”

Abundance of Xanthium spinosum L. along the different land types and its impacts on invaded plant communities in North Shewa Zone, Ethiopia

“…The sample sites were categorized into three infestation levels; low (0-25% land cover), medium (26-50%), and high (> 50%) infestation levels of the total percent area coverage of X. spinosum. These sites of low, medium, and high infestation were selected by ocular estimation from randomly thrown sample plots within the selected study sites (Shaheen et al, 2019;Tiwari et al, 2005). Additionally, to examine the effects of X. spinosum invasions on the species diversity and composition of invaded plant communities, 1 m 2 vegetation plots were sampled (80 plots for invaded and 80 for uninvaded/control).…”

Alien flora of Uttarakhand, western Himalaya: a comprehensive review

“…Although a handful of workers such as Pathak et al (2019) have highlighted the need and importance of studies relating to alien plant invasion in IHR. Further, comprehensive studies on the alien floras exists for some parts of the IHR such as the Kashmir Himalaya (Khuroo et al 2007;Dar et al 2018;Haq et al 2018;Mehraj et al 2018a,b;Muzafar et al 2019;Shaheen et al 2019), Himachal Pradesh (Jaryan et al 2013;Ahmad et al 2018), Arunachal Pradesh (Kosaka et al 2010), and its adjoining hilly regions of Assam (Barua et al 2013), West Bengal (Maiti & Bakshi 1981), Manipur (Khomdram et al 2011) and Tripura . Unfortunately, a detailed inventory of alien plants is still lacking for the state of Uttarakhand.…”