Abstract
Unveiling the processes driving exotic plant invasion represent a central issue in taking decisions aimed at constraining the loss of biodiversity and related ecosystem services. The invasion success is often linked to anthropogenic land uses and warming due to climate change. We studied the responses of native versus casual and naturalised exotic species richness to land uses and climate at the landscape level, relying on a large floristic survey undertaken in North - Eastern Italy. Both climate and land use drove exotic species richness. Our results suggest that the success of plant invasion at this scale is mainly due to warm climatic conditions and the extent of urban and agricultural land, but with different effects on casual and naturalized exotic species. The occurrence of non-linear trends showed that a small percentage of extensive agricultural land in the landscape may concurrently reduce the number of exotic plant while sustaining native plant diversity. Plant invasion could be potentially limited by land management, mainly focusing on areas with extensive agricultural land use. A more conscientious land management is more and more commonly required by local administrations. According to our results, a shift of intensive to extensive agricultural land, by implementing green infrastructures, seems to be a win–win solution favouring native species while controlling the oversimplification of the flora due to plant invasion.
Highlights
Unveiling the processes driving exotic plant invasion represent a central issue in taking decisions aimed at constraining the loss of biodiversity and related ecosystem services
Invasive species have demonstrated to adapt locally and to quickly evolve during expansion[21] and ecosystem disturbance was considered more important than climate in the plant invasion process in the Mediterranean basin[20,22]
Our results suggest that the success of plant invasion at the landscape scale is mainly due to the spread of urban and agricultural land use while the occurrence of a small percentage of extensive agriculture may reduce the number of exotic plant and promote native plant diversity
Summary
Unveiling the processes driving exotic plant invasion represent a central issue in taking decisions aimed at constraining the loss of biodiversity and related ecosystem services. We studied the responses of native versus casual and naturalised exotic species richness to land uses and climate at the landscape level, relying on a large floristic survey undertaken in North - Eastern Italy. Our results suggest that the success of plant invasion at this scale is mainly due to warm climatic conditions and the extent of urban and agricultural land, but with different effects on casual and naturalized exotic species. In human-influenced landscapes, exotic species benefit from the increased soil fertility and soil disturbance[14] but agriculture could act as a buffer against plant invasion[27,33] For these reason, the role of agricultural areas in plant invasion has still to be cleared, considering agricultural land use intensity (i.e. rate of crop area vs linear small patches of semi natural vegetation) as a possible driver of the process The role of agricultural areas in plant invasion has still to be cleared, considering agricultural land use intensity (i.e. rate of crop area vs. linear small patches of semi natural vegetation) as a possible driver of the process
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