The casual, naturalised and invasive alien flora of Zimbabwe based on herbarium and literature records

Koedoe: African Protected Area Conservation and Science

Alfred Maroyi¹ 

[1] Department of Biodiversity, University of Limpopo;

关键词: Alien plant species;    casual;    invasive;    naturalised;    Zimbabwe;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Zimbabwe’s casual, naturalised and invasive alien plant species were analysed with regard totheir habit, origin, mode or purpose of introduction and their invasion status in the country.This alien flora of 391 taxa belonged to 239 genera and 73 families, corresponding to 6.6% of the total flora of Zimbabwe. Of these, 153 (39.1%) plant species were casual aliens, 154(39.4%) were naturalised and 84 (21.5%) were invasive species. Most invasions in terms ofnumbers of alien species were in the central and eastern parts of the country. Asteraceae(53 species), Poaceae (48 species) and Fabaceae sensu lato (49 species) families were prominentin all the floristic regions of the country. Annual and perennial herbaceous species formed themajority of life forms of the casual, naturalised and invasive alien flora of Zimbabwe. Generawith the highest number of alien species were Ipomoea with nine species, Acacia and Euphorbia with eight species each, Chenopodium and Senna with seven species each, Eucalyptus with sixspecies, Oenothera, Physalis and Solanum with five species each. More than 49.6% of the alienplants in Zimbabwe originated primarily from South, Central and North America, followedby Europe (24.6%), Asia (23.8%), Africa (10.5%) and Australasia (5.9%).

Conservation implications: This research provides baseline information and historicalinvasion patterns of casual, naturalised and invasive alien flora in Zimbabwe. This inventoryis a crucial starting point in trying to understand and initiate the management of biologicalinvasions. This is also important for monitoring new introductions and management ofexisting alien plants in Zimbabwe.

【 授权许可】

Unknown