About the book:

Biological invasions and plant invasions in particular are major issues in ecological science. They also impact on public awareness, legislation, conservation biology, agronomy, forestry, and many other applied sciences. The mass transport of goods and people, rapidly increasing human populations, intensive agricultural and forestry practices, urbanisation, coastal management, climate change and the degradation and fragmentation of natural habitats are some of the driving forces that increase the global movement of species over natural boundaries and influence the success of new invasions. As a result, the flora of most countries is rich in non-native plant species. Not all the alien plant species cause problems, indeed many fail to establish following introduction. Some, however become aggressively invasive in their introduced range and can cause significant impact.
The problems associated with plant invasions have a global perspective. This is clearly shown by the increasing amount of literature on this topic in scientific journals, mailing lists, web pages, research programs, governmental efforts, new legislation and references to alien invasive species in International Conventions. The main indicator is, of course, the presence of world-wide invasion processes that are clearly active and being monitored in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Plant invasions cause severe ecological damage and economic loss across the globe. Furthermore, in many countries, removal/control programmes of invasive alien plants are often difficult to implement and are costly both in terms of time and money.
This book builds on material presented at the Sardinian conference where more than 100 contributions (papers and posters) were received from 20 countries across 5 continents. In an attempt to quantify and further the understanding of ecological issues relating to plant invasions, this work contains case study papers on the ecology of single invasive plant species. It also addresses general questions on invasion biology and explores the control and management of invasive species in a wide range of ecosystems.


Contents


Contents, Preface, Index of Main Taxa


General aspects

A model for interpreting the process of invasion: crucial situations favouring special characteristics of invasive species, Tina Heger
Can the impacts of invasive plants be predicted? Mark Williamson

Case studies I: Species

Spatio-temporal dynamics of Mimosa quadrivalvis var. leptocarpa populations in Peninsular Malaysia, Baki Bin Bakar
Comparative study of native and invasive populations of Lythrum salicaria: population characteristics, site and community relationships, Dá‰a Bastlová –Hanzélyová
Robinia pseudoacacia in the forested agricultural landscape of the Pisan Hills (Italy), Andrea Bertacchi, Tiziana Lombardi and Antonino Onnis
Effect of weather conditions on the growth of Solidago gigantea, Zoltán Botta-Dukát and István Dancza
The invasion history of Mycelis muralis in Ireland, Gerard Clabby and Bruce A. Osborne
Annual papavers: taxonomically complex weeds, Maretta Colasante, Mena Cima and Giulio Corazzi
Community characteristics in a mountain forest invaded by Gleditsia triacanthos, Federico Colombo Speroni and Marta L. de Viana
Paspalum vaginatum, neophyte in a Sardinian (Italy) brackish environment, Rossella Filigheddu, Emmanuele Farris and Felicina Trebini
Contibution to the invasive ecology of Rudbeckia laciniata, Tereza Francírková
Seed ecology of alien Bidens frondosa in comparison with native species of the genus, Helena Gruberová, Karolina Bendová and Karel Prach
Natural seed banks, seedling growth and survival in areas invaded by Gunnera tinctoria, Betsy Hickey and Bruce Osborne
Growth and developement of Mimosa pigra: an alien invasive plant in Sri Lanka, Buddhi Marambe, Luxman Amarasinghe and Sanjaya Dissanayake
Linking land use and invading species features. A case study of Acer negundo in BiaÞowie‡a village (NE Poland), Piotr M´drzycki and Piotr Pabjanek
Related alien species in their native and invaded ranges: a comparative study of the genus Oenothera in Arkansas (USA) and the Czech Republic, Stanislav Mihulka
Ecological and genetic features of the invasion by the alien Carpobrotus plants in Mediterranean island habitats, Carey M. Suehs, Frédéric Médail and Laurence Affre
Hydrology as an influence on invasion: experimental investigations into competition between the alien Impatiens glandulifera and the native Urtica dioica, David P. Tickner, Penelope G. Angold, Angela M. Gurnell, J. Owen Mountford and Tim Sparks
Patterns of invasion of Opuntia sp. pl. in abandoned olive groves in Catalonia (Spain), Montserrat Vilà and Isabel Gimeno
Synecology and dynamics of Amorpha fruticosa communities in the Po plain (Italy), Franco Zavagno and Giovanni D’Auria

Case studies II:
Invasive plants in protected areas
Invasive alien plants threatening the natural vegetation of Ãrség Landscape Protection Area (Hungary), Lajos Balogh
Type characters of non-native plant species in Great Lakes National Parks (USA), James P. Bennett

Case studies III:
Habitats, biotopes, regions
The importance of alien and native species in the urban flora of Rome (Italy), Laura Celesti Grapow, Piera Di Marzio and Carlo Blasi
Invasions of river corridors by exotic plant species: patterns and causes, Anne-Marie Planty-Tabacchi, Eric Tabacchi and Maria Jacoba Salinas Bonillo
Persistance of stout clonal herbs as invaders in the landscape: a field test of historical records, Petr Py‰ek, Bohumil Mandák, Tereza Francírková and Karel Prach
The history of studies of invasive alien plants in Poland, Barbara Tokarska-Guzik / Investigations on some reproductive features of invasive alien plants in Italy, Lucia Viegi
Invasive plants involved in primary succession on post-industrial areas in Upper Silesia (Poland), Gabriela Woêniak
Sucess factors enabling the penetration of mountain areas by kenophytes: an example from the northern Polish Carpathians, Maria Zajàc and Adam Zajàc

Case studies IV:
Invasive plant management
Experimental control of Reynoutria congeners: a comparative study of a hybrid and its parents, KateÄina Bímová, Bohumil Mandák and Petr Py‰ek
Strategic invasive plant management, linking policy and practice: a case study of Fallopia japonica in Swansea, South Wales (UK), Lois Child, Max Wade and Sean Hathaway
Community-based efforts to control early invasion of Lepidium Latifolium in the Lake Tahoe Basin (USA), Susan Donaldson and Ellen Swensen
Invasive plants on land recovering from desertification on Saint Helena Island, Anthony David Kendle and Juliet Emma Rose
Effect of the removal of the exotic Eucalyptus resinifera on the floristic composition of a protected xerophythic shrubland in Mexico City, Saúl Segura-Burciaga and Jorge Meave

Index