Non-native flora changes in rural gardens of China: the role of tourism

Abstract

Human cultivation facilitates the naturalization and subsequent invasion of non-native plant species through, for example, protection from predators or reducing environmental stochasticity. With the development of tourism, non-native plant species have been increasingly introduced into rural home gardens for landscape greening and amenity planting. However, few studies have examined non-native flora in rural home gardens, and in particular the importance of tourism in determining changes of garden non-native flora has not been scrutinized. In this study, we investigated non-native plant species in 135 home gardens across five rural tourism villages in tropical China. Attributes related to garden or household characteristics were also collected through interviews and questionnaires. A distance-based redundancy analysis was then performed to reveal the relationships between the non-native species composition and garden attributes. A total of 338 non-native plant species were recorded in the surveyed gardens. Among them, the majority (63%) were ornamentals, whereas 19% were for nutritional uses and 12% were spontaneous weeds. Gardening preference and distance to tourist attractions governed the non-native compositions, with gardens preferring cultural (ornamental) cultivation or gardens close to tourist attractions having more non-native species. These results highlight an increasing role of tourism in promoting non-native cultivation in rural gardens. Recommendations for species risk assessment, trade and supply regulation, and proper garden management are provided to help harness plant invasion along tourism development in rural China and other regions around the world.