Abstract
Urban forest ecosystems, the structure, and functions therein are subjected to anthropogenic disturbances. Native and sensitive species from those forests might be lost due to such disturbances. At the same time, supplemented anthropogenic resources might create opportunities for exotic and invasive species. Although invasive species are considered one of the major threats to the urban biodiversity and ecosystems, the research on invasion dynamics in the Himalayas has primarily focused on the impacts of invasion on forest structure and productivity. This study aims to understand the influence of forest structure and anthropogenic factors in invasion success that are poorly covered in the existing literature. We selected 11 urban forest patches for the study considering the presence-absence of selected invasive species and structural attributes. We used Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to reduce co-linearity in the covariates and generalized linear mixed effects model (GLMM) to identify the factors affecting invasion success. We found that forest structural attributes, namely, tree diameter, height and canopy cover, and anthropogenic disturbances regulate invasion success in urban forests. This implies that maintaining urban forest structural attributes, especially the stands with large-sized trees, is essential to control invasion in the context of urbanization.
Highlights
Urban green spaces represented by diverse habitat types ranging from the highly managed green infrastructures like green roofs to the remnant patches of urban forest are crucial for habitat connectivity and ecosystem service perspectives ( Milanovich et al 2012; Aronson et al 2017)
We found that the structural attributes of the forests and anthropogenic disturbances regulated invasion success in urban forests
In the context of knowledge void regarding the implication of tree species richness, abundance, and forest structure on the regulation of invasion of the urban forest, this study aimed at generating information on two fronts: i) to assess the role site-level disturbances play on the invasion probability within the urban forests and ii) comprehend the importance of structural attributes of forests to provide defense against invasion
Summary
Urban green spaces represented by diverse habitat types ranging from the highly managed green infrastructures like green roofs to the remnant patches of urban forest are crucial for habitat connectivity and ecosystem service perspectives ( Milanovich et al 2012; Aronson et al 2017). They play a vital role to make towns and cities habitable area through the abatement of pollutants such as ozone, acting against the impacts of urban heat islands, moderating local climate, and enhancing thermal comfort (Klemm et al 2015; Ballinas and Barradas 2016; Calfapietra et al 2016; Jaganmohan et al 2016; Livesley et al 2016). The level of invasion and ecological success of invasive species are often regulated by context-specific factors (Dyderski and Jagodziński 2019)
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