Impact of the Invasive Prosopis juliflora on Terrestrial Ecosystems

Hussain, M. Iftikhar; Shackleton, Ross T.; El‐Keblawy, Ali; González, L. M.; Trigo, M.M.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-73245-5_7

Cited by 18 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 259 publications

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“…Prosopis juliflora is native to the Americas and introduced in West Africa to combat desertification. It has spread rapidly into fertile areas since the 1970s (Shackleton et al 2014, Hussain 2021). Based on our random sites from the zone between 7°N and 22°N, we estimated the total woody cover of Prosopis within this region at 28,000 ha, which does not include the extensive pure stands in the former lakebed of Lac Faquibine in Mali (Djoudi et al 2011) and the northern half of Lake Chad (Batello et al 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Fortunes of Migratory Birds from Eurasia: Being on a Tightrope in the Sahel

Zwarts¹,

Bijlsma²,

Kamp³

2023

Ardea

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Many studies have shown that rainfall in the Sahel has a great influence on population trends of European bird species that spend the northern winter there. African bird species living in the Sahel, notably those that forage on the ground, have also shown significant declines, but independent of rainfall. This paper summarises the results of field data gathered in the entire Sahel and evaluates the many factors that play a role in the fortunes of birds. (1) Rainfall determines the extent of open water in the Sahel, and by default the fortunes of waterbirds. In recent decades the surface area of open water has increased because water tables have risen. (2) Rainfall south of the Sahel determines river discharge and therefore the surface of floodplains in the Sahel. Rainfall has a cumulative effect: discharges disproportionally decrease after a number of years with little rain, and vice versa. During the dry season (October-May), floodplains gradually dry out. In wet years, water -and hence food -is available for birds up to their departure, but in dry years birds become concentrated at the few remaining pools and so present an easy target for bird-trappers. Further desiccation leads to starvation. (3) After a year with heavy rainfall, seed is available in abundance, but a dry year results in a shift in the plant community and a low seed supply. Mortality among seedeaters increases under dry conditions. (4) In dry years, trees lose their leaves early on, forcing arboreal birds into a diminishing number of trees that retain leaves. In extremely dry years trees die on a massive scale and it takes many years before tree coverage is restored. When droughts occur in quick succession, as in 1972/73 and again in 1984/85, tree recovery is slow and populations of arboreal birds will continue to decline, or recover slowly or only partly (as for Eurasian Wryneck Jynx torquilla and Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus, whose numbers remain reduced by tenfold when compared to the 1950s, despite a slight recovery). Rainfall in the Sahel gradually recovered after 1990, as did the woody vegetation albeit with a delay, and many migratory bird species responded accordingly. Subalpine Warblers Curruca subalpina and Western Orphean Warblers Curruca hortensis have increased as much as threefold to fivefold since 1990. Southern European bird species, wintering in the arid parts of southern Sahara and Sahel, were hit the hardest during the Great Drought in 1969-1992, but also recovered the fastest, particularly strongly once rainfall had significantly recovered.Despite clear links between migratory birds and rainfall-related variables in their wintering areas, a migrant's world is more complicated than exclusively being constrained by rainfall. In the past century, the human population in sub-Saharan Africa has increased tenfold, with far-reaching consequences. (1) Cattle numbers boomed and grazing pressure increased greatly. Heavy grazing means lower grass seed production, especially of seeds that birds prefer. The steep decline of gr...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Fortunes of Migratory Birds from Eurasia: Being on a Tightrope in the Sahel

Zwarts¹,

Bijlsma²,

Kamp³

2023

Ardea

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“…The average IDN species has short maximum height (Fig 10) and low survival, of 57-68%, despite moderate wood density but (Fig 10), except during the drought when 78% survived. Some IDN species can have high recruitment rates, like P. pallida and L. leucocephala [11,156,157]. What these species and SPCA all have in common is that they are considered shade-intolerant pioneers [158].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Multiscale predictors of small tree survival across a heterogeneous tropical landscape

Helmer

Kay²,

Marcano‐Vega³

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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Uncertainties about controls on tree mortality make forest responses to land-use and climate change difficult to predict. We tracked biomass of tree functional groups in tropical forest inventories across Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and with random forests we ranked 86 potential predictors of small tree survival (young or mature stems 2.5–12.6 cm diameter at breast height). Forests span dry to cloud forests, range in age, geology and past land use and experienced severe drought and storms. When excluding species as a predictor, top predictors are tree crown ratio and height, two to three species traits and stand to regional factors reflecting local disturbance and the system state (widespread recovery, drought, hurricanes). Native species, and species with denser wood, taller maximum height, or medium typical height survive longer, but short trees and species survive hurricanes better. Trees survive longer in older stands and with less disturbed canopies, harsher geoclimates (dry, edaphically dry, e.g., serpentine substrates, and highest-elevation cloud forest), or in intervals removed from hurricanes. Satellite image phenology and bands, even from past decades, are top predictors, being sensitive to vegetation type and disturbance. Covariation between stand-level species traits and geoclimate, disturbance and neighboring species types may explain why most neighbor variables, including introduced vs. native species, had low or no importance, despite univariate correlations with survival. As forests recovered from a hurricane in 1998 and earlier deforestation, small trees of introduced species, which on average have lighter wood, died at twice the rate of natives. After hurricanes in 2017, the total biomass of trees ≥12.7 cm dbh of the introduced species Spathodea campanulata spiked, suggesting that more frequent hurricanes might perpetuate this light-wooded species commonness. If hurricane recovery favors light-wooded species while drought favors others, climate change influences on forest composition and ecosystem services may depend on the frequency and severity of extreme climate events.

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“…Their nutritional and oil contents are noteworthy for their use in multiple applications, mainly as bio‐diesel oil sources; however, they still need to be explored for their benefits. [ 23 ] Prosopis juliflora biomass may be gasified into bio‐char or syngas for CI engines despite the bio‐oil. The plant's invasiveness can be mitigated by using those waste biomass.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiesel from Biomass Waste Feedstock Prosopis Juliflora as a Fuel Substitute for Diesel and Enhancement of Its Usability in Diesel Engines Using Decanol

et al. 2023

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Biomass‐based biofuel production is a promising solution to the decline of fossil fuels. Prosopis juliflora seed‐derived vegetable oil, known as Prosopis juliflora methyl ester (JFME), offers a potential feedstock for biodiesel. To enhance its properties, the addition of Decanol is investigated, a higher‐order alcohol similar to Diesel. Experiments are conducted on a 5.2 kW compression ignition (CI) engine using JFME blended with different decanol concentrations (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%). Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry analysis confirm its compliance with fuel standards. The findings reveal that the 20% decanol blend (D20) achieves a brake thermal efficiency of 29.9% at full load, with reduced NO, smoke, and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions compared to diesel. D20 shows NO emissions of 1265 ppm, smoke opacity of 53%, and HC emissions of 69 ppm, while diesel records 1320 ppm, 69%, and 75 ppm, respectively. The CO emissions for D20 are 0.359 vol%, slightly higher due to decanol's higher latent heat of evaporation. Moreover, D20 exhibits improved combustion with a higher mass fraction burnt and faster heat release rates. These results indicate the potential of using JFME blended with 20% decanol as an alternative fuel for CI engines, offering higher performance and reduced emissions.

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Impact of the Invasive Prosopis juliflora on Terrestrial Ecosystems

Cited by 18 publications

References 259 publications

The Fortunes of Migratory Birds from Eurasia: Being on a Tightrope in the Sahel

The Fortunes of Migratory Birds from Eurasia: Being on a Tightrope in the Sahel

Multiscale predictors of small tree survival across a heterogeneous tropical landscape

Biodiesel from Biomass Waste Feedstock Prosopis Juliflora as a Fuel Substitute for Diesel and Enhancement of Its Usability in Diesel Engines Using Decanol

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