Abstract
One of the main causes of biodiversity loss in the world is the uncontrolled expansion of invasive plants. According to the edaphoclimatic conditions of each region, plants acquire different invasion behaviors. Thus, to better understand the expansion of invasive plants with radial growth, it is proposed to use two equations, the Annual Linear Increment (ALI) and the Annual Invasiveness Rate (AIR). These equations are applied using spatiotemporal data obtained from the analysis of orthophotomaps referring populations of Acacia dealbata Link. in areas located in Serra da Estrela, Portugal. As a result, the area occupied by this species in the parish of Cabeça was evaluated and a 20-year projection was carried out. The data produced by these equations contributed to improving the knowledge about the invasion behavior of exotic species in a rigorous and detailed way according to local ecological conditions. This study may serve as the basis for the application of other similar situations concerning invasive species in other territories, to improve the efficiency of future projections for these species. Local technical and scientific knowledge will contribute to improving spatial and management planning, enabling a better adequacy and effectiveness of the control measures to be adopted.
Highlights
The impact of invasive plants on ecosystems is a major cause of biodiversity loss in the world, especially in some large well identified hotspots [1,2,3,4]
In Portugal, according to Morais et al [6], Acacia dealbata Link. is the species with the greatest invasive potential, mainly due to its high seed production capacity, which is associated with an effective germination rate above 70%, a rapid growth and allelopathic capacity [6,7,8]
For the calculation of Annual Linear Increment (ALI) and Annual Invasiveness Rate (AIR), we developed two arithmetic equations that allow us to obtain invasiveness rates when the growth of the population of the studied species appears to be of radial type
Summary
The impact of invasive plants on ecosystems is a major cause of biodiversity loss in the world, especially in some large well identified hotspots [1,2,3,4]. According to the latest National Forest Inventory, from 1995 to 2015, the areas occupied by Acacia genus species increased by approximately 5.7 thousand hectares in the Portuguese territory, reaching 8.4 thousand hectares in 2015 [9,10,11]. This problem occurs in areas occupied with native forest species, more often within the habitats of the Natura 2000 Network (ecological network for the European Union’s community space), such as the European dry heaths (code of habitat: 4030), pre-desert. The most important economic impacts occur when acacia populations emerge alongside agricultural crops [14,15,16], impairing the germination and growth of important cultivated food species [10]
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