Abstract
There is a long history of species being moved around the world by humans. These introduced species can provide substantial benefits, but they can also have undesirable consequences. We explore the importance of human activities on the processes of species dissemination and potential invasions using the grass subfamily Bambusoideae ("bamboos"), a group that contains taxa that are widely utilised and that are often perceived as weedy. We (1) compiled an inventory of bamboo species and their current distributions; (2) determined which species have been introduced and become invasive outside their native ranges; and (3) explored correlates of introduction and invasion. Distribution data were collated from Kew's GrassBase, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and other online herbarium information sources. Our list comprised 1662 species in 121 genera, of which 232 (14%) have been introduced beyond their native ranges. Twelve species were found to be invasive. A non-random selection of bamboos have been introduced and become invasive. Asiatic species in particular have been widely introduced. There was a clear over-representation of introduced species in the genera Bambusa and Phyllostachys which also contain most of the listed invasive species. The introduction of species also correlated with certain traits: taxa with larger culm dimensions were significantly more likely to have been moved to new areas; and those with many cultivars had a higher rate of dissemination and invasion. It is difficult to determine whether the patterns of introduction and invasion are due simply to differences in propagule pressure, or whether humans have deliberately selected inherently invasive taxa. In general, we suggest that human usage is a stronger driver of introductions and invasions in bamboos than in other taxa that have been well studied. It is likely that as bamboos are used more widely, the number and impact of invasions will increase unless environmental risks are carefully managed.
Highlights
Human-mediated dissemination of species has intensified over the past three centuries with the increase of global traffic (Meyerson and Mooney 2007; Ricciardi 2007)
In many woody plant taxa, such as Acacia, Pinus and Proteaceae, seedbank size and longevity are associated with invasion success (Grotkopp et al 2002; Moodley et al 2013; Richardson and Kluge 2008), while in Cactaceae growth form is an important determinant of invasion success. (Novoa et al 2015)
A large subfamily of the grasses (Poaceae: Bambusoideae; 1662 species in 121 genera)
Summary
Human-mediated dissemination of species has intensified over the past three centuries with the increase of global traffic (Meyerson and Mooney 2007; Ricciardi 2007). Proteaceae with showy flowers and Cactaceae with other traits valued for ornamentation were found to be overrepresented among introduced species in these families (Moodley et al 2013; Novoa et al 2015) For both these families, traits that enabled greater ability to spread were found to be more important for invasion success post-introduction. The positive correlation of propagule pressure and invasion success has been observed in many taxa including birds (Duncan 1997; Veltman et al 1996), mammals (Crowell 1973; Forsyth et al 2004) and aquatic species (Colautti 2005; Duggan et al 2006) This is notable with intentional introductions, such as the case with many ornamental (Dehnen-Schmutz and Touza 2008) and cultivated agricultural (Pysek et al 2006) plants. This would have profoundly influenced the way bamboos from this region have been distributed to other parts of the world
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