Forestry plantations as a pathway for invasive alien plants in the National Park at Réunion island

Identifying pathways of introduction remains a major priority to prevent future plant invasions into natural areas. In this study, we assessed whether forestry plantations favor alien plant dissemination into the National Park of Reunion. Results showed significant decrease in the percentage of alien plant biomass from the forestry plantations to the undisturbed areas. At one site,a significant difference was also found for the mean alien species number and the mean alien plant abundance. In both sites, numerous alien species were present in the understorey of Cryptomeria plantations only, with some already escaping and occurring at the entrance of the National Park. This study recommends strengthening early detection and rapid response of alien plants and suggests alternative management approaches in forestry plantations, including the use of community-based restoration programmes.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Baret, Stéphane, MacDonald, Ian A.W., Buckland, Steeves, Fontaine, Christian, Rouget, Mathieu
Format: article biblioteca
Language:eng
Subjects:K01 - Foresterie - Considérations générales, H60 - Mauvaises herbes et désherbage, plantation forestière, espèce envahissante, espèce introduite, introduction de plantes, approche participative, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_3048, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_49865, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1333440888271, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_5971, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_9000119, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_6543, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_3081,
Online Access:http://agritrop.cirad.fr/595366/
http://agritrop.cirad.fr/595366/1/Baret%20et%20al.%202019%20Forestry%20plantations.pdf
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Summary:Identifying pathways of introduction remains a major priority to prevent future plant invasions into natural areas. In this study, we assessed whether forestry plantations favor alien plant dissemination into the National Park of Reunion. Results showed significant decrease in the percentage of alien plant biomass from the forestry plantations to the undisturbed areas. At one site,a significant difference was also found for the mean alien species number and the mean alien plant abundance. In both sites, numerous alien species were present in the understorey of Cryptomeria plantations only, with some already escaping and occurring at the entrance of the National Park. This study recommends strengthening early detection and rapid response of alien plants and suggests alternative management approaches in forestry plantations, including the use of community-based restoration programmes.