Hotspots for invasive alien plants in India
Identifying hotspots for invasive alien plant invasions can help concentrate management and mitigation practices in vulnerable habitats. Using Ecological Niche Modeling (ENM) with species occurrence data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), the predicted area of invasion for selected species in India was classified into four categories (high, medium, low and very low). In total, 155 invasive alien plant species currently occurring in India were selected, and their global occurrence data was used to build the models. The geographical regions of Africa, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America were used for the niche models. The climatic suitability maps showed that the continents of Africa and Australia had a high climatic comparability to the northeastern region and eastern coasts of India whereas North and South America matched with the peninsular and northeastern region. Europe had high climatic comparability with the western Himalayas. Approximately 49 % of the total geographical area of India was predicted to be prone to invasion at medium to high levels based on climatic suitability. The study shows that invasion hotspots overlap with biodiversity hotspots which are of concern especially when considering that biodiversity hotspots are subject to high levels of disturbance in the form of agriculture expansion and urbanization. Secondly the study shows that invasion hotspots coincide with islands and coastal areas and through this study the authors highlighted important measures that should be put in place to mitigate further invasions. Surveillance and quarantine measures should be increased in such areas to prevent the introduction, colonization and establishment of invasive alien plants.
Sources
Adhikari D, Tiwary R & Barik SK (2015) Modelling hotspots for invasive alien plants in India. PLOS One. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134665.