PJB-2019-349
INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF ROADS AND HUMAN SETTLEMENTS IN THE SPREAD OF ALIEN INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES IN THE VHEMBE BIOSPHERE RESERVE, LIMPOPO PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA.
Sipho Glen Mbambala
Abstract
Alien invasive plant species are one of the main drivers of plant biodiversity loss and reduction in ecosystem services globally. Road ecology is one of the aspects that drives the distribution of alien invasive plant species. The study investigated the effects of opening paths in the form of roads for vehicles and human movement, both paved and unpaved, to the distribution of alien invasive plant species in Vhembe Biosphere Reserve (VBR) in Limpopo Province in South Africa. The diversity and composition of alien invasive and indigenous plant species in paved and unpaved road verges in Mutale Local Municipality of the Vhembe Biosphere in Northern Limpopo Province, South Africa was determined. The five most abundant alien invasive plant species were selected and their abundance and cover determined. The results showed that overall paved roads harbour similar percentage of alien invasive plant species 75% (15/20) than unpaved roads 73% (11/15). One of the alien species (Euphorbia paucifaloia) was significantly higher in abundance and cover in paved compared to unpaved roads. However, unpaved verges harboured substantially higher estimated species richness and diversity (both Shannon and Simpson) than paved and both the native and alien plant communities differed markedly in composition between the two road types, mostly due to the prevalence of alien plant species in paved verges compared to native plant species in unpaved verges. Strong correlation was observed between abundance of Calotropis procera and proximity to the human settlements, signifying an important role of human disturbance in the distribution of this emergent invasive plant species. Ways to minimize the effect of paved road on alien invasive plant species distribution should be considered as these paved roads are often regarded as symbol of economic and society development.
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