Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Assessing the risks of plant invasions arising from collections in tropical botanical gardens

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biodiversity and Conservation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Tropical botanical gardens have played an important role in the distribution, naturalisation and spread of non-native plants worldwide. Appropriate guidance relating to risk assessments of established botanical garden collections is often scarce. This paper uses the Amani Botanical Garden (ABG), Tanzania, as a case study to highlight appropriate methods to assess the risks posed by existing and future collections in tropical botanical gardens. Key considerations included field assessments of species status using accepted definitions of naturalisation, spread and invasion, distinguishing between intentionally and unintentionally introduced species, identifying taxonomic patterns in invasion status, assessing patterns in habitats colonised, and determining how knowledge of invasion elsewhere might be useful in forecasting risk. Out of the 214 alien plant species surviving from the original plantings in the early 20th century, 35 had only regenerated, 38 had locally naturalised while 16 had spread widely in the botanical garden. A further 16 species with unclear introduction records in the garden were also found to be naturalised. A greater proportion of introduced species were potentially invasive than might be expected from previous analyses of global floras. Overall, just over half of all naturalised and spreading species were also observed in forest fragments and edges. The proportion of species that had been recorded elsewhere as naturalised/invasive was significantly related to their status in ABG, with 94% of spreading species and 79% of naturalising species being recorded as naturalised or invasive elsewhere, compared to 57% of species that were only regenerating and 49% of species only surviving. Recommendations for further risk assessments of botanical garden collections are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

ABG:

Amani Botanical Garden

References

  • Anderson NO, Galatowitsch SM, Gomez N (2006) Selection strategies to reduce invasive potential in introduced plants. Euphytica 148:203–216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baskin Y (2002) The greening of horticulture: new codes of conduct aim to curb plant invasions. Bioscience 52:464–471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bellingham PJ, Duncan RP et al (2004) Seedling growth rate and survival do not predict invasiveness in naturalized woody plants in New Zealand. Oikos 106:308–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bellingham PJ, Tanner EVJ, Healey JR (2005) Hurricane disturbance accelerates invasion by the alien tree Pittosporum undulatum in Jamaican montane rain forests. J Veg Sci 16:675–684

    Google Scholar 

  • Binggeli P (1998) An overview of invasive woody plants in the tropics. School of Agricultural and Forest Sciences publication number 13, University of Wales, Bangor

  • Binggeli P, Hamilton AC (1993) Biological invasion by Maesopsis eminii in the East Usambara forests, Tanzania. Opera Bot 121:229–235

    Google Scholar 

  • CAB International (2005) Forestry compendium (CD Rom). Wallingford, UK

  • Cordeiro NJ, Patrick DAG et al (2004) Role of dispersal in the invasion of an exotic tree in an East African submontane rainforest. J Trop Ecol 20:449–457

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cronk QCB, Fuller JL (1995) Plant invaders: the threat to natural ecosystems. Chapman & Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Daehler CC (1998) The taxonomic distribution of invasive angiosperm plants: ecological insights and comparison to agricultural weeds. Biol Conserv 84:167–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daehler CC, Denslow JS et al (2004) A risk-assessment system for screening out invasive pest plants from Hawaii and other Pacific Islands. Conserv Biol 18:360–368

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dehnen-Schmutz K, Touza J et al (2007) The horticultural trade and ornamental plant invasions in Britain. Conserv Biol 21:224–231

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dosman M, Del Tredici P (2003) Plant introduction, distribution and survival: a case study of the 1980 Sino-American botanical expedition. Bioscience 53:588–597

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fine PVA (2002) The invasibility of tropical forests by exotic plants. J Trop Ecol 18:687–705

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenway PJ (1934) Report of a botanical survey of the indigenous and exotic plants in cultivation at the East African Agricultural Research Station, Amani, Tanganyika Territory

  • Hartemink AE (2001) Biomass and nutrient accumulation of Piper aduncum and Imperata cylindrica fallows in the humid lowlands of Papua New Guinea. For Ecol Manage 144:19–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haysom KA, Murphy ST (2003) The status of invasiveness of forest tree species outside their natural habitat: a global review and discussion paper. In: Forest ecology and management. Forest health and biosecurity working paper FBS/3E. Forestry Department, FAO, Rome

  • Heywood VH (1987) The changing role of the botanic garden. In: Bramwell D, Hamann O, Heywood V, Synge H (eds) Botanic gardens and the world conservation strategy. IUCN, Academic Press, London, pp 3–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Honess BL (1963) The Amani plantations: a detailed report on a survey made in 1961–1962. Agricultural Officer, Muheza, Tanzania

  • Hulme PE (2003) Biological invasions: winning the science battles but losing the conservation war? Oryx 37:178–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hulme PE (2005) Nursery crimes: agriculture as victim and perpetrator in the spread of invasive species. In: British Crop Protection Council (eds) Crop sciences and technology: proceedings of an international congress held in Glasgow. 31st October–2nd November 2005, pp 744–740

  • Hulme PE (2006) Beyond control: wider implications for the management of biological invasions. J Appl Ecol 43:835–847

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hulme PE, Bacher S, Kenis M, Klotz S, Kühn I, Minchin D, Nentwig W, Olenin S, Panov V, Pergl J, Pyšek P, Roques A, Sol D, Solarz W, Vilà M Grasping at the routes of biological invasions: a framework to better integrate pathways into policy. J Appl Ecol (in press)

  • ISSG—Invasive Species Specialist Group (2007) Global invasive species database. http://www.issg.org/database/welcome/. Cited Feb 2007

  • Iversen ST (1991) The Usambara Mountains, NE Tanzania: phytogeography of the vascular plant flora. Dissertation, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis XXIX: 3, Almqvist and Wiksell International, Stockholm

  • Jayeola AA (2006) Stemming the menace of alien plant invasion through botanic garden education. African Botanic Gardens Network Bulletin 11

  • Jefferson L, Havens K, Ault J (2004) Implementing invasive screening procedures: the Chicago Botanic Garden model. Weed Technol 18:1434–1440

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kembelo K (1996) The botanical gardens of Zaire and the present state of biodiversity in Zaire. Bot Gard Conserv News 2:7

    Google Scholar 

  • Leadlay E (2004) Report of the 2nd world botanic gardens congress, Barcelona, Spain. Bot Gard J 1(1). http://www.bgci.org/worldwide/article/229/. Cited October, 2007

  • Lockwood JL, Cassey P, Blackburn T (2005) The role of propagule pressure in explaining species invasions. Trends Ecol Evol 20:223–228

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lorence DH, Sussman RW (1986) Exotic species invasion into Mauritius wet forest remnants. J Trop Ecol 2:147–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mack RN (2005) Predicting the identity of plant invaders: future contributions from horticulture. Hortscience 40:1168–1174

    Google Scholar 

  • Marambe B (2001) Alien invasive plants in Sri Lanka: current concerns and future perspectives. In: Balakrishna P (ed) Report of the workshop on alien invasive species, global biodiversity forum, South and Southeast Asia session, October 1999, Colombo, Sri Lanka. IUCN, pp 61–66

  • Maunder M (1994) Botanical gardens—future challenges and responsibilities. Biodivers Conserv 3:97–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maunder M, Higgens S, Culham A (2001) The effectiveness of botanic garden collections in supporting plant conservation: a European case study. Biodivers Conserv 10:383–401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKey D (1988) Cecropia peltata, an introduced pioneer tropical tree, is replacing Musanga cecropioides in Southwestern Cameroon. Biotropica 20:262–264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meier W (2006) Contribution to the knowledge of Persicaria nepalensis (Meisn.) H.Gross and P.capitata (Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don) H.Gross, invasive species in theAvila National Park, Venezuela. Acta Bot Ven 29:1–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer JY (1998) Observations on the reproductive biology of Miconia calvescens DC (Melastomataceae), an alien invasive tree on the island of Tahiti (South Pacific Ocean). Biotropica 30:609–624

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller IL, Lonsdale WM (1987) Early records of Mimosa pigra in the Northern Territory. Plant Prot Q 2:140–142

    Google Scholar 

  • Muller T (1994) The role a botanical institute can play in the conservation of the terrestrial biodiversity in a developing country. Biodivers Conserv 3:116–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newmark WD (2002) Conserving biodiversity in Eastern African forests: a study of the Eastern Arc Mountains. Ecological studies, vol 155. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • PIER—Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (2006) Plant threats to Pacific ecosystems: index of all PIER species listed by scientific name, version 5.1. Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry/US Forest Service and Department of Agriculture. http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html. Cited Jan 2007

  • Peters WL, Meyer MH, Anderson NO (2006) Minnesota horticultural industry survey on invasive plants. Euphytica 148:75–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pyšek P (1998) Is there a taxonomic pattern to plant invasions? Oikos 82:282–294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pyšek P, Hulme PE (2005) Spatio-temporal dynamics of plant invasions: linking pattern to process. Ecoscience 12:302–315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pyšek P, Richardson DM et al (2004) Alien plants in checklists and floras: towards better communication between taxonomists and ecologists. Taxon 53:131–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Randall RP (2007) Global compendium of weeds (online verision). Dated 24th January 2007. http://www.hear.org/gcw/. Cited Nov 2007

  • Reichard SH (2004) Conflicting values and common goals: codes of conduct to reduce the threat invasive species. Weed Technol 18:1503–1507

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reichard SH, Hamilton CW (1997) Predicting invasions of woody plants introduced into North America. Conserv Biol 11:193–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reichard SH, White P (2001) Horticulture as a pathway of invasive plant introduction in the United States. Bioscience 51:103–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rejmánek M (2000) Invasive plants: approaches and predictions. Austral Ecol 25:497–506

    Google Scholar 

  • Rejmánek M, Richardson DM (1996) What attributes make some plant species more invasive? Ecology 77:1655–1661

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson DM, Rejmánek M (2004) Conifers as invasive aliens: a global survey and predictive framework. Divers Distrib 10:321–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson DM, Pyšek P et al (2000a) Naturalization and invasion of alien plants: concepts and definitions. Divers Distrib 6:93–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson DM, Allsopp N et al (2000b) Plant invasions—the role of mutualisms. Biol Rev 75:65–93

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2002) Electronic Plant Information Centre. http://www.kew.org/epic/. Cited Sept 2006

  • Sandy RF, Boniface G, Rajabu I (1997) A survey and inventory of the Amani Botanical Garden. East Usambara catchment forest project technical paper 38. Forest and Beekeeping Division/Finnish Forest and Park Service, Dar es Salaam/Vantaa

  • Scott JK, Panetta FD (1993) Predicting the Australian weed status of Southern African plants. J Biogeogr 20:87–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheil D (1994) Naturalized and invasive plant species in the evergreen forests of the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Afr J Ecol 32:66–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network—(GRIN) [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/index.pl. Cited February 2007

  • Vaughan RE, Wiehe PO (1937) Studies on the vegetation of Mauritius: I. A preliminary survey of the plant communities. J Ecol 25:289–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waylen K (2006) Botanic gardens: more than just a pretty place. Oryx 40:259–260

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber E (2003) Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds. CABI Publishing, Wallingford

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitmore TC (1991) Invasive woody plants in perhumid tropical climates. In: Ramakrishnan PS (ed) Ecology of biological invasions in the tropics. International Scientific Publications, New Delhi, pp 35–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Wijesundra S (1999) Alien invasive species in Sri Lanka and their history of introduction. In: Marambe B (ed) Proceedings of the first national workshop on alien invasive species. Ministry of Forestry and Environment, Sri Lanka, pp 25–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Williamson MH (1996) Biological invasions. Chapman & Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Williamson MH, Fitter A (1996) The characters of successful invaders. Biol Conserv 78:163–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work is part of the Darwin Initiative project “Combating alien invasive plants threatening the East Usambara mountains in Tanzania” (162/13/033) and authors are grateful for financial support from Defra and NERC. The authors would also like to thank the staff of the Amani Nature Reserve, especially Mr. Corodius Sawe, and the Tropical Biology Association, especially Dr. Rosie Trevelyan, for logistical support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological sciences, University of Aberdeen, Cruickshank Building, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK

    Wayne Dawson & David F. R. P. Burslem

  2. Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (Edinburgh), Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 OQB, UK

    Wayne Dawson

  3. Tanzanian Forestry Research Institute (TAFORI) Herbarium, P.O. Box 95, Lushoto, Tanzania

    Ahmed S. Mndolwa

  4. National Center for Advanced Bio-Protection Technologies, Lincoln University, P.O. Box 84, Canterbury, New Zealand

    Philip E. Hulme

Authors
  1. Wayne Dawson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ahmed S. Mndolwa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David F. R. P. Burslem
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Philip E. Hulme
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wayne Dawson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dawson, W., Mndolwa, A.S., Burslem, D.F.R.P. et al. Assessing the risks of plant invasions arising from collections in tropical botanical gardens. Biodivers Conserv 17, 1979–1995 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9345-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9345-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation