Alien plant invasions in tropical and sub-tropical savannas: patterns, processes and prospects

By L. Foxcroft, D. Richardson, M. Rejmánek, Petr Pyšek. Biological Invasions, 2010

125 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Biological invasions affect virtually all ecosystems on earth, but the degree to which different regions and biomes are invaded, and the quality of information from different regions, varies greatly. A large body of literature exists on the invasion of savannas in the Neotropics and northern Australia where invasive plants, especially African grasses, have had major impacts. Less has been published on plant invasions in African savannas, except for those in South Africa. Negative impacts due to plant invasions in African savannas appear to be less severe than in other regions at present. As savannas cover about 60% of the continent, with tens of millions of people relying on the services they provide, it is timely to assess the current status of invasions as a threat to these ecosystems. We reviewed the literature, contrasting the African situation with that of Neotropical and Australian savannas. A number of drivers and explanatory factors of plant invasions in savannas have been described, mostly from the Neotropics and Australia. These include herbivore presence, residence time, intentional introductions for pasture improvements, fire regimes, the physiology of the introduced species, and anthropogenic disturbance. After comparing these drivers across the three regions, we suggest that the lower extent of alien plant invasions in African savannas is largely attributable to: (1) significantly lower rates of intentional plant introductions and widespread plantings (until recently); (2) the role of large mammalian herbivores in these ecosystems; (3) historical and biogeographical issues relating to the regions of origin of introduced species; and (4) the adaptation of African systems to fire. We discuss how changing conditions in the three regions are likely to affect plant invasions in the future.

Subfields: Ecology, Nature and Landscape Conservation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/ee4c7ce75bc42dbc0c69fd06cf8838a3ae4c8d95

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In Nature and Landscape Conservation

Citations in the corpus

Estimating the financial risks of Andropogon gayanus to greenhouse gas abatement projects in northern Australia (2013, background): “While Australia’s savanna is largely intact, invasive grasses pose a major threat to its ecological function and biodiversity, particularly through increased fuel loads and changed fire regimes (Setterfield et al 2010, Brooks et al 2010, Foxcroft et al 2010).”
Allelopathy: a tool for weed management in forest restoration (2012, background): “Removal of forests and increased light conditions that favor growth rates of C4 grasses can lead to dense stands of these exotic invaders (Foxcroft et al. 2010; Joo Kim et al. 2008; Sage and Kubien 2003).”
Invasion dynamics of Lantana camara L. (sensu lato) in South Africa (2012, background): “camara is one of the most conspicuous invaders in savanna ecosystems worldwide (Foxcroft et al., 2010).”
Does the biogeographic origin of species matter? Ecological effects of native and non‐native species and the use of origin to guide management (2016, background): “However, there is clear evidence that highly invasive Poaceae (a globally widespread family) are predominantly from Africa (Foxcroft et al. 2010).”