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Annual monitoring reveals rapid upward movement of exotic plants in a montane ecosystem
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SYSNO ASEP 0472819 Document Type J - Journal Article R&D Document Type Journal Article Subsidiary J Článek ve WOS Title Annual monitoring reveals rapid upward movement of exotic plants in a montane ecosystem Author(s) Kalwij, Jesse (BU-J) RID
Robertson, M. P. (ZA)
van Rensburg, B. J. (ZA)Source Title Biological Invasions. - : Springer - ISSN 1387-3547
Roč. 17, č. 12 (2015), s. 3517-3529Number of pages 13 s. Language eng - English Country NL - Netherlands Keywords alpine alien plants ; established range ; Sani Pass Subject RIV EF - Botanics Institutional support BU-J - RVO:67985939 UT WOS 000363482600014 DOI 10.1007/s10530-015-0975-3 Annotation There is increasing evidence that invasive species are threating montane ecosystems globally. However, trends in species distribution are difficult to observe directly due to a lack of data with suitable spatio-temporal resolution. Here, we aimed to detect spatio-temporal trends in exotic plants in a montane ecosystem, and to determine which drivers had a role affecting these trends. These upward trends were too rapid to be explained by slow-acting drivers such as climatic change or time since species introduction. The rates of increase indicate that many exotics were not yet in equilibrium with the environment and, therefore, had not been in the region long enough to have filled their potential niches. Exotic species could reach much higher elevations than expected, indicating that current prediction models are likely an underestimation of potential distributional ranges. The spatial clustering of upper elevational range limits around potential points of introduction indicates ongoing human-mediated propagule pressure as the major cause of rapid exotic range expansion, especially along roads and near dwellings. Montane road verges are regularly disturbed by erosion and maintenance, creating unoccupied habitats, while traffic in the form of vehicles and tourists facilitates the introduction of new species. This suggests that easily accessible montane ecosystems are much more susceptible to invasions than previously assumed, due to a combination of anthropogenic disturbance and ongoing propagule pressure. Workplace Institute of Botany Contact Martina Bartošová, martina.bartosova@ibot.cas.cz, ibot@ibot.cas.cz, Tel.: 271 015 242 ; Marie Jakšová, marie.jaksova@ibot.cas.cz, Tel.: 384 721 156-8 Year of Publishing 2017
Number of the records: 1