Exotic plant invasion in the highly degraded upland landscape of Hong Kong, China

Abstract

Plant communities in the continental tropics have suffered less from exotic plant invasions than their oceanic island counterparts. Most studies have focused on near-pristine communities. By contrast, we examine the resistance of semi-natural continental plant communities in Hong Kong, which have been suffering from chronic and massive human impacts. We compiled a list of all naturalized non-native species recorded in Hong Kong and then sampled the plant communities for exotic species along roadsides, a stream through semi-natural vegetation, and in semi-natural vegetation away from both roads and streams on Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong’s highest peak (957 m). Similar surveys were repeated in other areas of Hong Kong. More than 162 naturalized exotic plant species have been recorded in Hong Kong. On Tai Mo Shan, 29 exotic species were recorded in roadside vegetation, with the diversity but not percentage cover declining significantly with altitude. Fifteen exotic species were found along the stream, including two not found along the roadside. Only six exotic species were found away from roads and streams, all in unshaded areas disturbed by feral cattle. In all surveys, no exotics were found in closed woody vegetation or in open areas without feral cattle, except for one species. The shade-tolerant tropical Asian tree Syzygium jambos was found invading along some streamsides without anthropogenic disturbance. Despite centuries of massive human impacts, exotic plant invasions in Hong Kong are still largely confined to habitats that suffer from chronic human disturbance. Feral cattle promote invasion where people are absent, but this problem still seems potentially reversible. Only Syzygium jambos is of possible current conservation concern.