The bottom line: impacts of alien plant invasions in protected areas
Date
2013
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer, Dordrecht
Abstract
Phrases like “invasive species pose significant threats to biodiversity. . .”
are often used to justify studying and managing biological invasions. Most biologists
agree that this is true and quantitative studies support this assertion. Protected
areas are the foundation of conservation initiatives in many parts of the world, and
are an essential component of an integrated approach to conserving biodiversity and
the associated ecosystem services. The invasion of alien plants constitutes a substantial and growing threat to the ability of protected areas to provide this
service. A large body of literature describes a range of impacts, but this has not
been assessed within the context of protected areas. We do not aim to review the
state of knowledge of impacts of invasive plants; rather, we collate examples of
work that has been carried out in protected areas to identify important patterns,
trends and generalities. We also discuss the outcomes of various studies that, while
not necessarily undertaken in protected areas, are likely to become important for
protected areas in the future. We discuss the range of impacts under five broad
headings: (i) species and communities; (ii) ecosystem properties; (iii) biogeochemistry
and ecosystem dynamics; (iv) ecosystem services; and (v) economic impacts.
Description
Keywords
Biogeochemistry, Conservation, Economic Impact, Impact, Management, Nature Reserve
Citation
Foxcroft, L.C., Pyšek, P. Richardson, D.M., Pergl, J. and Hulme, P.E. 2013. The bottom line: impacts of alien plant invasions in protected areas. In: Plant Invasions in Protected Areas. Patterns, Problems and Challenges. Foxcroft, L.C., Pyšek, P., Richardson, D.M. and Genovesi, P. (eds.) Springer, Dordrecht. pp. 19-41. Doi:10.1007/978-94-007-7750-7_2