Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 126516 |
| Journal | Urban Forestry and Urban Greening |
| Volume | 48 |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2020 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Abstract
Tropical Pacific island countries, many of which are less-developed, are experiencing invasions of alien plant species at rates faster than areas of comparable size elsewhere. In this paper we examine the relationship between the presence, abundance, and richness of 14 invasive woody plant (IWP) species and level of urbanization and road type in the Greater Suva Urban Area (GSUA), Fiji. One hundred and fifty-four sample locations within a 29 km transect traversing urban, peri-urban and rural land sectors on local, collector and arterial roads were surveyed. We analyzed the 14 species for frequency of occurrence across the urban-rural gradient and found spatial patterns of IWP presence differed by species. We analyzed the abundance of seven species using multivariable regression and found abundance was more often influenced by urban-rural sector than road type, though road type had a significant effect for some species. We conclude by offering plausible explanations for differences attributed to modes of dispersal, introduction history and human activities. We include supplementary material providing detailed characterization of biology, ecology, and history of the 14 target species. These findings are expected to help inform risk assessments and management of IWP in other tropical urban-rural gradients, and especially small island developing states.
Keywords
- Invasive woody plants, Pacific Island countries (PICs), Roadside ecology, Small island developing states, Tropical plant invasions, Urban-Rural gradient
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Forestry
- Environmental Science(all)
- Ecology
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Soil Science
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, Vol. 48, 126516, 02.2020.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Spatial patterns of presence, abundance, and richness of invasive woody plants in relation to urbanization in a tropical island setting
AU - Lowry, Brenda J.
AU - Lowry, John H.
AU - Jarvis, Karl J.
AU - Keppel, Gunnar
AU - Thaman, R. Randolph
AU - Boehmer, Hans Juergen
N1 - Funding information: We are grateful to the two anonymous reviewers whose comments and recommendations have improved the quality of this paper. In addition, we thank Karuna Reddy, Statistician in the Research Office at the University of the South Pacific for his assistance with statistical analyses. We thank Sarah Pene, Lecturer at the University of the South Pacific, and Anna Tunabuna-Buli with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community in Suva, Fiji for their input on native vegetation and invasive plants of Fiji. We also express gratitude to the 10 local experts who helped narrow the focus to the target IWP species investigated in this research. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
PY - 2020/2
Y1 - 2020/2
N2 - Tropical Pacific island countries, many of which are less-developed, are experiencing invasions of alien plant species at rates faster than areas of comparable size elsewhere. In this paper we examine the relationship between the presence, abundance, and richness of 14 invasive woody plant (IWP) species and level of urbanization and road type in the Greater Suva Urban Area (GSUA), Fiji. One hundred and fifty-four sample locations within a 29 km transect traversing urban, peri-urban and rural land sectors on local, collector and arterial roads were surveyed. We analyzed the 14 species for frequency of occurrence across the urban-rural gradient and found spatial patterns of IWP presence differed by species. We analyzed the abundance of seven species using multivariable regression and found abundance was more often influenced by urban-rural sector than road type, though road type had a significant effect for some species. We conclude by offering plausible explanations for differences attributed to modes of dispersal, introduction history and human activities. We include supplementary material providing detailed characterization of biology, ecology, and history of the 14 target species. These findings are expected to help inform risk assessments and management of IWP in other tropical urban-rural gradients, and especially small island developing states.
AB - Tropical Pacific island countries, many of which are less-developed, are experiencing invasions of alien plant species at rates faster than areas of comparable size elsewhere. In this paper we examine the relationship between the presence, abundance, and richness of 14 invasive woody plant (IWP) species and level of urbanization and road type in the Greater Suva Urban Area (GSUA), Fiji. One hundred and fifty-four sample locations within a 29 km transect traversing urban, peri-urban and rural land sectors on local, collector and arterial roads were surveyed. We analyzed the 14 species for frequency of occurrence across the urban-rural gradient and found spatial patterns of IWP presence differed by species. We analyzed the abundance of seven species using multivariable regression and found abundance was more often influenced by urban-rural sector than road type, though road type had a significant effect for some species. We conclude by offering plausible explanations for differences attributed to modes of dispersal, introduction history and human activities. We include supplementary material providing detailed characterization of biology, ecology, and history of the 14 target species. These findings are expected to help inform risk assessments and management of IWP in other tropical urban-rural gradients, and especially small island developing states.
KW - Invasive woody plants
KW - Pacific Island countries (PICs)
KW - Roadside ecology
KW - Small island developing states
KW - Tropical plant invasions
KW - Urban-Rural gradient
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85075477946&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ufug.2019.126516
DO - 10.1016/j.ufug.2019.126516
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85075477946
VL - 48
JO - Urban Forestry and Urban Greening
JF - Urban Forestry and Urban Greening
SN - 1618-8667
M1 - 126516
ER -