Alien Plant Species
Why it Matters?
Alien plant species are rapidly invading tropical ecosystems, especially in the Greater Tropics, replacing native flora and threatening biodiversity, livelihoods, and ecosystem stability.
What You Should Know?
Alien plant species are non-native species introduced directly or indirectly by humans into new geographical regions.
Its spread is driven by climate change, land use, and ecological factors, leading to irreversible biodiversity loss and replacement of stable native ecosystems with degraded, less diverse ones.
The Greater Tropics alone host 9,831 alien species, and around 66% of India’s natural areas are impacted.
Examples of Invasive Species include Lantana camara, Chromolaena odorata, Sonchus oleraceus, Prosopis juliflora (India), Brachiaria decumbens (Amazon), and Ziziphus mauritiana (Australia).
They alter fire regimes, fuel intense wildfires, and disrupt herbivore diets.
Invasions risk converting forests from carbon sinks to carbon sources, exacerbating climate change by raising atmospheric CO₂.