Invasive species are a major threat to biological diversity all over the world. Pest plants usually pose a huge problem and especially because they usually go undetected for a very long time and hence ends up causing huge ecological damage. The worst invasive pests are normally due to intercontinental introductions and especially due to the release from natural control factors. The main aim of this research paper is to discuss the issues that are involved in assessing the risk involved when there is the introduction of invasive pest plants. The study further goes ahead to propose policy recommendations for botanical gardens to act as models for policies on plant introduction and distribution.
The research proposes two policy alternatives for botanical gardens which include the Strict Conservation Garden and Conservation Aware Garden policy. The Strict Conservation Garden policy circumvents the problem through the prohibition of the transportation of species across natural barriers as this leads to worst exotic problems. The Conservation Aware Garen policy, on the other hand, requires very strict adherence to inspection and quarantine policies which are aimed at excluding diseases, pests and other pests that might end up being accompanying the introduced plant.
This paper is important as it explains two different approaches or policies which should be followed in order to prevent problems that occur with the introduction of invasive plants. Management of invasive plants is very important in ecology as these plants are usually a great threat to other plants. invasive plants significantly affect the diversity of the local species, damage the quality of soil nutrients and also affect the availability of water. The invasive plant that is an alien plant inhabits a habitat and completely changes the conditions of that given environment. These plants also colonize the habitat and hence excluding the native plants from the habitat and by doing this, they decrease the biodiversity of the native and hence they are and for the environment. There is, therefore, the need to manage these invasive plants to prevent the biological threats that they bring to the environment. This would help in protecting the biodiversity of the native plants which is important for the ecosystem.
References
White, P. S., & Schwarz, A. E. (1998). Where do we go from here? The challenges of risk assessment for invasive plants. Weed Technology, 12(4), 744-751.
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 