Alien invasive plants increasing in higher elevations

Alien invasive plants increasing in higher elevations

Subject: Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context: In Kashmir Himalayas in India, scientists have noted railway and road infrastructure expansion is a contributing factor to the march of invasive alien plant species higher into the mountains.

More on the News:

• The study shows “consistent increases” in the number of alien plant species and their swift spread into higher elevations between 2007 and 2017.
• The number of alien plant species surveyed in each region has increased by a global average of 16% in the past 10 years. In addition, in ten out of the eleven mountain regions studied, the species are occurring at significantly higher elevations than ten or even five years ago
• Most non-native plants are promoted by disturbance caused by human activities. In mountainous areas, roads provide access points and conduits for spread, with the result that many non-native plants can be found in disturbed roadside habitat. Roads also provide very convenient ways to sample a range of elevation zones.
• Climate warming will “almost certainly” increase the suitability of higher-elevation regions for many nonnative plants, and so promote further expansion.
• Invasive daisies such as the ox-eye daisy were detected in several of the regions surveyed in the study, including in the Kashmir Himalayas.
• About 50% of invasive plants in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region have been introduced unintentionally. Largely, countries in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region lack policies and legislation to tackle invasive alien species because it is not a priority conservation issue.