Characteristics, significance, and human dimension of global invasive weeds

Abstract

Invasive plant species have potential to damage our crops, our industries, the environment and public health. Scientists, academics, leaders of industry and land managers are realizing that invasive species are serious environmental threats for the 21st century [1, 2]. Also, invasive species are recognized as one of the leading threats to biodiversity and imposes tremendous costs on agriculture, forestry, fisheries, wetlands, roadsides, natural areas, and other human enterprises, including human health. Invasive species take a heavy economic toll with costs estimated to be $137 billion every year in the United States [3]. In 1994, the impacts of invasive plants in the United States were estimated at $13 billion per year [4]. For centuries people have moved plants, animals, and microbes around the world. Most countries now rely on plants and animals from other regions of the world in order to meet their dietary needs. People in the US also import plants and animals, and their products, as ornamental plants and pets. Organisms that have been moved from their native habitat to a distant location are typically referred to as “non-native”, “non-indigenous”, “exotic”, or “alien” to the new environment. There are fundamental differences in the approaches dealing with invasive plant species problem depending on the ecosystem being invaded (terrestrial, forests, and marine). My purpose is to highlight the characteristics and significance of terrestrial invasive plant species. Also, I link various aspects of the human dimension to the current status of global invasive weeds.