Abstract
Background: Mimosa diplotricha is an emerging or established weed in many parts of the world, including many countries in Africa, where it is impacting on biodiversity, crop and pasture production, and driving socio-ecological change.Objectives: To establish the current distribution of M. diplotricha in eastern and southern Africa and its impacts on livelihoods in northern Malawi.Methods: Records on current distribution were collected from roadside surveys, literature reviews and herbarium data. Household surveys were conducted in the Karonga District, Malawi, to understand its impacts on local livelihoods.Results: Mimosa diplotricha is abundant in western Ethiopia, southern Tanzania, and northern and southeastern Malawi with isolated populations in western Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique, and on the northern shores of Lake Victoria inUganda. Most respondents said that M. diplotricha invasions were reducing the amount of grass and shrubs in rangelands, with over half saying it reduced crop yields. This invasive plant is also reducing the availability of medicinal plants andother natural resources.Conclusions: Mimosa diplotricha has the potential to significantly expand its range in eastern Africa, and parts of southern Africa, and as such there is an urgent need to develop and implement an integrated management strategy, including biological control, to reduce the negative effects of this invasive plant on local livelihoods.
Highlights
People have been moving plants around the world for centuries for ornamental, medicinal, agro-forestry and other purposes (Pimentel et al 2001)
Biological invasions are considered to be among the most pressing issues facing the planet, especially in developing countries where the natural resource base on which millions of people depend is rapidly being eroded by the rapid proliferation of many invasive species (Shackleton et al 2017a,b,c; Witt & Luke 2017; Witt et al 2018)
Mimosa is abundant in western Ethiopia, southern Tanzania on the northern shores of Lake Malawi, and northern and southeastern Malawi, with localised invasions on the northern shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda and in southeastern Rwanda (Figure 2)
Summary
People have been moving plants around the world for centuries for ornamental, medicinal, agro-forestry and other purposes (Pimentel et al 2001). A small percentage of these introduced species have become invasive, having a negative impact on, among others, biodiversity, crop and/or pasture production, human and/or animal health, and water resources (Pimentel et al 2001; Singh 1996; Tamado & Milberg 2000; Van Wilgen et al 2008). One of the plant species having a significant impact on biodiversity and crop and pasture production at a global level, including Africa, is Mimosa diplotricha Sauvalle (Fabaceae; creeping sensitive plant), hereafter referred to as ‘mimosa’. Mimosa diplotricha is an emerging or established weed in many parts of the world, including many countries in Africa, where it is impacting on biodiversity, crop and pasture production, and driving socio-ecological change
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