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Possible impacts of the invasive plant Rubus niveus on the native vegetation of the Scalesia Forest in the Galapagos Islands

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Renteria, J. L., Gardener, M. R., Panetta, F. D., Atkinson, R. and Crawley, M. J. (2012) Possible impacts of the invasive plant Rubus niveus on the native vegetation of the Scalesia Forest in the Galapagos Islands. PloS one, 7 (10). e48106-e48106.

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Article Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0048106

Article URL: http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0048106

Abstract

Originally from Asia, Rubus niveus has become one of the most widespread invasive plant species in the Galapagos Islands. It has invaded open vegetation, shrubland and forest alike. It forms dense thickets up to 4 m high, appearing to displace native vegetation, and threaten the integrity of several native communities. This study used correlation analysis between a R. niveus cover gradient and a number of biotic (vascular plant species richness, cover and vegetation structure) and abiotic (light and soil properties) parameters to help understand possible impacts in one of the last remaining fragments of the Scalesia forest in Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos. Higher cover of R. niveus was associated with significantly lower native species richness and cover, and a different forest structure. Results illustrated that 60% R. niveus cover could be considered a threshold for these impacts. We suggest that a maximum of 40% R. niveus cover could be a suitable management target.

Item Type:Article
Business groups:Biosecurity Queensland
Additional Information:© 2012 Rentería et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Subjects:Science > Invasive Species > Plants > Impact assessment
Live Archive:06 Jun 2013 03:31
Last Modified:03 Sep 2021 16:49

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