Invasive plant ecology in natural and agricultural systems

AbstractThe objective of this paper was to systematically analyze the trend of plant ecological research in Ethiopia. The inclusion and exclusion of the articles for analysis were performed using Reporting Standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses (ROSES) flow diagram developed for systematic review/meta-analysis. The number of articles published, authors, and collaboration has increased dramatically since the 1960s. Most of the research largely focused on the Dry evergreen Afromontane Forest and grassland complex (DAF) and Moist evergreen Afromontane Forest (MAF) vegetation types, comprising of about 52.6%. Of the remaining vegetation types, the woodlands (14.3%) i.e. Acacia-Commiphora woodland and bushland proper (ACW), and Combretum-Terminalia woodland and wooded grassland (CTW), desert and semi-desert scrubland (DSS) (2.3%), and the Afroalpine (AA) and Ericaceous Belt (EB) (1.5%) received little attention. A descriptive study on plant community ecology revolving on floristic composition and community structure is the dominant research theme, which revealed a narrow theme in contrast to the global trend. Other plant ecological studies such as reproductive and dispersal ecology of invasive plant species, and pollination ecology seems largely a neglected topic by the academia. Furthermore, the recommendations forwarded are not result-based. As a future direction, the Ethiopian government should develop a project database both for completed and ongoing projects.

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Invasive Plant Ecology

10.1201/b13865 ◽

2013 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Keyword(s):

Invasive Plant ◽

Plant Ecology

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Invasive Plant Ecology and Management: Linking Processes to Practice. Edited by T. A. Monaco and R. L. Sheley. Wallingford, UK: CABI (2012), pp. 216, £75.00. ISBN 978-1-84593-811-6.

Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1017/s0014479713000069 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 49 (3) ◽

pp. 479-480

Author(s):

Jonne Rodenburg

Keyword(s):

Invasive Plant ◽

Plant Ecology

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Invasive plant ecology and management: linking processes to practice

10.1079/9781845938116.0000 ◽

2012 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Keyword(s):

Invasive Plant ◽

Plant Ecology

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Progress in invasive plants research

Progress in Physical Geography Earth and Environment ◽

10.1191/0309133306pp468ra ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 25-46 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Scott Henderson ◽

Terence P. Dawson ◽

Robert J. Whittaker

Keyword(s):

Invasive Plants ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Biodiversity Loss ◽

Plant Invasions ◽

Plant Ecology ◽

Global Perspective ◽

Natural Ecosystems ◽

Worst Case ◽

Natural Systems ◽

Landscape Characteristics

This paper identifies the historical precedents and recent advances in descriptive and analytical aspects of invasive plant ecology. The paper takes a global perspective that focuses primarily on natural and semi-natural systems. The dynamics of plant invasions depend on the unique combination of species and recipient environments in light of short-lived, but highly influential, stochastic events. Spreading from the original point of establishment can be virtually instantaneous or follow a prolonged timelag. Range extension proceeds according to a variety of patterns dependent on the interplay between dispersal modes and landscape characteristics. The impacts of plant invasions are all-encompassing: biodiversity loss, economic impacts and aesthetic impacts occasioned by the loss of traditional cultural or natural landscapes. From the conservation perspective, costs are incalculable, but undoubtedly high. The impacts of invasive plants on natural ecosystems occur across all levels of biotic organization and, in the worst case, result in global extinctions and modification of fundamental ecosystem properties that make restoration practically impossible. Plant invasions occur across all habitat types and have spawned complementary theories, which are briefly presented within particular contexts.

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