Plant Invasions: Symptoms and Contributors Rather Than Causes of Environmental Degradation

Jurskis, Vic

doi:10.3390/f3040896

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The state of transition between the cloud, dry and transitional forest is affected by various factors: agriculture, desforestation to obtain charcoal, in which a case in point is the mangrove. Another factor is the considerable increase in invasive species favoured by tourism and by the dispersion of fruits and seeds by birds [28,29]; a particular case is Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms which is very abundant in the mangrove swamps of Laguncularia racemosa (L.) Gaertn.…”

Section: Fig 1 Environments Of the Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Forests and Landscapes of Dominican Republic

Cano-Ortíz¹,

Musarella

Fuentes

et al. 2015

BJAST

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aims: This, in conjunction with the diversity of the substrates and the fact that the island is home to the highest mountains in the Caribbean and with a high rate of endemic species, allows them to be differentiated into three major groups -dry forest, cloud forest and the transition between dry and cloud forests. The forests in the Dominican Republic grow in a tropical climate with ombrotypes ranging from arid to humid-hyperhumid due to the moisture-laden Atlantic winds; and infra-, thermo-, meso-and supratropical thermotypes. Establish the diversity, ecology and forest types in Dominican Republic. Methods:We identified all species through field surveys and comparative analyzes of how forest types, structure, diversity and ecology. Cano-Ortiz et al.; BJAST, 9(3): xxx-xxx, 2015; Article no.BJAST.2015.263 232 Results: We consided these forests to be endemic to the island of Hispaniola, as the dry forest presents 81 endemic species, of which 10 are trees, 65 shrubs, 5 creepers, and 1 herbaceous species; while the cloud forest has 19 trees, 20 shrubs, 8 creepers, 4 epiphytes and 6 herbaceous species. Conclusions: We highlight the absence of endemic epiphytes in the dry forests, which are in a poor state of conservation and subject to greater human pressure than the cloud forest. Original Research Article

show abstract

Section: Fig 1 Environments Of the Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Forests and Landscapes of Dominican Republic

Cano-Ortíz¹,

Musarella

Fuentes

et al. 2015

BJAST

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Ecological factors include light, temperature, water, wind, and atmospheric conditions and can play important roles in the distribution of invasive species and their success of establishment, spread, and persistence [16]. Additionally, ecosystem processes, including soil hydrology and nutrient cycling, can be altered by invasive plants [17][18][19][20]. These modifications of community structure and ecosystem functions can jeopardize the ecosystem stability and facilitate subsequent invasions [20,21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of Foliar Fungal Endophytic Communities of Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) in the Southeast United States

Shahrtash

Brown

2020

Diversity

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fungal endophytes play important roles in plant fitness and plant–microbe interactions. Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) is a dominant, abundant, and highly aggressive invasive plant in the Southeast United States. Kudzu serves as a pathogen reservoir that impacts economically important leguminous crops. We conducted the first investigations on kudzu fungal endophytes (Illumina MiSeq—ITS2) to elucidate drivers of endophytic communities across the heart of the invasive range in the Southeast United States (TN, MS, AL, GA). We tested the impacts of multiple environmental parameters (Chlorophyll, NO3−, K+, soil pH, leaf area, host genotype, traffic intensity, and geographic location) on foliar endophyte communities. Endophytic communities were diverse and structured by many factors in our PerMANOVA analyses, but location, genotype, and traffic (proxy for pollution) were the strongest drivers of community composition (R2 = 0.152, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.129, p < 0.001, and R2 = 0.126, p < 0.001, respectively). Further, we examined the putative ecological interactions between endophytic fungi and plant pathogens. We identify numerous OTUs that are positively and strongly associated with pathogen occurrence, largely within the families Montagnulaceae and Tremellales incertae sedis. Taken together, these data suggest location, host genetics and local pollution play instrumental roles in structuring communities, and integrative plant management must consider these factors when developing management strategies.

show abstract

“…expansion of woody taxa) and encroachment to occur (Sheuyange et al 2005;Jurskis 2012;Jurskis and Underwood 2013;Murphy et al 2014;Moss et al 2016). To quantify vegetation cover change aerial photographs that are spatially identical and temporally different are ideal tools to assess gains or losses within vegetation types, as well as examine the impact of invasive species and/or ecological changes, such as vegetation thickening.…”

Section: Background and Gaps In Present State On Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Changing Fire Regimes in Tropical and Subtropical Australia

Stewart¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The focus of the study is to investigate regional and local past, present and future changes in fire regimes of tropical and subtropical Queensland and shifts in vegetation composition and structure. Fire has been shown to be a significant driver of ecosystem evolution, composition and distribution through its impact on biota. Within Australia fire has long played a role in shaping the landscape, with increased fire frequency, associated with heightened aridity, over the last five million years promoting the expansion of fire adapted sclerophyll vegetation across the continent. Evidence of anthropogenic fires date back to approximately 50 ka (thousand years ago) with the advent of Aboriginal occupation and fire-stick practices, however with the arrival of Europeans there was a decline in fire frequencies, related to fire exclusion that observes an increase in fire intensity and severity.A review of the introduction of tropical African perennial grasses to improve grazing in tropical and semi-arid regions of northern Australia was also undertaken. This introduction has resulted in some exotic grass species such as Gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus), Mission grass (Cenchrus polystachios syn. Pennisetum polystachion) and Guinea grass (Megathyrsus maximus syn. Panicum maximum Jacq. var. trichoglume) becoming invasive pests. Invasion by these exotic grasses has serious implications for ecosystem function, altering fire regime dynamics through increasing the distribution and abundance of fine fuels. With increased fine fuels there is a serious danger that there will be an increase in fire frequency and intensity resulting in higher severity burns and higher vegetation mortality, with possible local species extinctions and habitat modification or change.Macro charcoal and pollen records were used from Fraser Island, subtropical eastern Australia to identify fire and vegetation histories, which show substantial temporal and spatial changes in past fire frequencies and vegetation composition for the last 24,000 years. Pollen records show pyrophobic rainforest taxa dominated and then declined while pyrogenic sclerophyll arboreal taxa increased correlating with an increase in fire frequencies, and a dryer climate. This was followed by a dramatic increase in Restionaceae values at the beginning of the Holocene (~10,000 years ago) that dropped off as a marked peak in mangroves, primarily the Rhizophoraceae and Melaleuca iii occurred, possibly linked with sea level rise approximately 6000 to 5000 years ago, which was also associated with lower fire frequencies. Restionaceae then recovered from around 2 ka to the European settlement period, when a dramatic change in fire frequency occurred linked to fire suppression and was followed by vegetation thickening (i.e. increase in arboreal taxa) in the mid to late 20 th century. Identifying past and present fire regimes and vegetation composition are important for fire modelling as this provides possible scenario based probabilities for changes in fire frequency and intensity....

show abstract

Plant Invasions: Symptoms and Contributors Rather Than Causes of Environmental Degradation

Cited by 7 publications

References 23 publications

Forests and Landscapes of Dominican Republic

Forests and Landscapes of Dominican Republic

Drivers of Foliar Fungal Endophytic Communities of Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) in the Southeast United States

Changing Fire Regimes in Tropical and Subtropical Australia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About