Abstract
Worldwide, invasive alien species (IAS) cause significant ecological and economic impacts. To meet the Target-6 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework that deals with IAS, it is crucial to fill the geographical knowledge gaps in invasion research. Towards this end, making available inventories of IAS from data-deficient regions of the world merits urgent research attention. Here we present an integrated inventory of invasive alien flora of South Asia—the most populous region of the world. We assembled the inventory by reviewing 236 studies published from 1890 to 2022, supplemented with expert validation. The inventory comprises 241 invasive alien plant species (IAPS) with perennial lifespan (65%) and herbaceous life form (61%) as the dominant life history traits. The number of IAPS varies considerably across the seven countries in the region with the highest in India (185) followed by Bhutan (53), Sri Lanka (45), Bangladesh (39), Nepal (30), Pakistan (29) and the lowest in Maldives (15). We found the highest species’ similarity between India and Bhutan and the lowest between India and Maldives, thus highlighting the role of geographical proximity and connectivity in shaping a similar species pool. Southern America was the major contributor both at country level and across the region, thereby indicating that the tropical climate matching aids in the establishment and spread of alien species. Our study will fill existing data gaps in the global reports, foster further research on biological invasions in South Asia, and guide invasion policy formulation and management strategies within each country and much beyond the political boundaries across the region.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The data used in this study is available in the form of Electronic Supplementary Material.
References
Adkins SW, Shabbir A, Dhileepan K (eds) (2018) Parthenium weed: biology, ecology and management, vol 7. CABI
Adhikari B, Shrestha BB, Watson MF et al (2022) Invasive alien plants of Nepal: A field guide to 27 problematic species. Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal
Adhikari D, Tiwary R, Barik SK (2015) Modelling hotspots for invasive alien plants in India. PLoS ONE 10(7):e0134665. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134665
Ahmad R, Khuroo AA, Hamid M et al (2019a) Predicting invasion potential and niche dynamics of Parthenium hysterophorus (Congress grass) in India under projected climate change. Biodivers Conserv 28(8):2319–2344. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-019-01775-y
Ahmad R, Khuroo AA, Charles B et al (2019b) Global distribution modelling, invasion risk assessment and niche dynamics of Leucanthemum vulgare (Ox-eye Daisy) under climate change. Sci Rep 9:11395. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-47859-1
Allaire JJ, Ellis P, Gandrud C et al (2017) Package ‘networkD3’. D3 JavaScript network graphs from R. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=networkD3
Ansong M, Pergl J, Essl F et al (2019) Naturalized and invasive alien flora of Ghana. Biol Invasions 21:669–683. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-018-1860-7
Bajwa AA, Farooq M, Nawaz A et al (2019) Impact of invasive plant species on the livelihoods of farming households: evidence from Parthenium hysterophorus invasion in rural Punjab Pakistan. Biol Invasions 21(11):3285–3304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-019-02047-0
Baker HG (1965) Characteristics and modes of origin of weeds. In: Baker HG, Stebbins G (eds) The genetics of colonizing species. Academic Press Inc., New York, pp 147–172
Banerjee AK, Khuroo AA, Dehnen-Schmutz, et al (2021) An integrated policy framework and plan of action to prevent and control plant invasions in India. Environ Sci Policy 124:64–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2021.06.003
Bang A, Cuthbert RN, Haubrock PJ, Fernandez RD et al (2022) (2022) Massive economic costs of biological invasions despite widespread knowledge gaps: a dual setback for India. Biol Invasions 24:2017–2039. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02780-z
Baselga A (2010) Partitioning the turnover and nestedness components of beta diversity. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 19(1):134–143
Baselga A, Orme D, Villéger S, De Bortoli J, Leprieur F, Logez M, Henriques-Silva R (2018) Partitioning beta diversity into turnover and nestedness components. Package ‘betapart’. Version, 1(1). https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=betapart
Bellard C, Leroy B, Thuiller W et al (2016) Major drivers of invasion risks throughout the world. Ecosphere 7:e01241. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1241
Bhattarai KR, Måren IE, Subedi SC (2014) Biodiversity and invasibility: Distribution patterns of invasive plant species in the Himalayas. Nepal J Mt Sci 11(3):688–696. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-013-2821-3
Bloom DE, Rosenberg L (2011) The future of South Asia: population dynamics, economic prospects, and regional coherence. WDA-Forum, University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen
Bordbar F, and Meerts PJ (2022) Alien flora of DR Congo: improving the checklist with digitised herbarium collections. Biol Invasions 1–16
Brummitt R (2001) World geographical scheme for recording plant distributions, 2nd edn. Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh), Pittsburgh, Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation
Brundu G, Richardson DM (2016) Planted forests and invasive alien trees in Europe: a code for managing existing and future plantings to mitigate the risk of negative impacts from invasions. NeoBiota 30:5–47. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.30.7015
Cassey P, Delean S, Lockwood JL et al (2018) Dissecting the null model for biological invasions: a meta-analysis of the propagule pressure effect. PLoS Biol 16:e2005987. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2005987
Capinha C, Essl F, Porto M, Seebens H (2023) The worldwide networks of spread of recorded alien species. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 120(1):e2201911120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2201911120
Catford JA, Wilson JR, Pyšek P et al (2022) Addressing context dependence in ecology. Trends Ecol Evol 37(2):158–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2021.09.007
Celesti-Grapow L, Pyšek P, Jarošík V, Blasi C (2006) Determinants of native and alien species richness in the urban flora of Rome. Divers and Distrib 12(5):490–501. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1366-9516.2006.00282.x
Chandra Sekar K, Manikandan R, Srivastava SK (2012) Invasive alien plants of Uttarakhand Himalaya. Proc Natl Acad Sci India Sect B Biol Sci 82(3):375–383. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-012-0040-2
Chase MW, Christenhusz MJW, Fay FM et al (2016) An update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV. Bot J Linn Soc 181(1):1–20
DAISIE (ed) (2009) Handbook of alien species in Europe. Springer, Berlin, p 399
Dar GH, Khuroo AA (2020) An introduction to biodiversity of the Himalaya: Jammu and Kashmir state. Biodiversity of the Himalaya: Jammu and Kashmir state. Springer, Singapore, pp 3–26
Datta A, Maharaj S, Prabhu GN, Bhowmik D, Marino A, Akbari V et al (2021) Monitoring the spread of water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes): challenges and future developments. Front Ecol Environ 9:631338. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.631338
Dawson W, Moser D, van Kleunen M, Kreft H, Pergl J, Pysˇek P, Weigelt P et al (2017) Global hotspots and correlates of alien species richness across taxonomic groups. Nat Ecol Evol 1:0186. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0186
Diagne C, Leroy B, Vaissiere AC, Gozlan RE, Roiz D, Jarić I, Courchamp F (2021) High and rising economic costs of biological invasions worldwide. Nature 592(7855):571–576. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03405-6
Dorjee JSB, Buckmaster AJ et al (2020) Weeds in the land of Gross National Happiness: Knowing what to manage by creating a baseline alien plant inventory for Bhutan. Biol Invasions 22:2899–2914. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02306-5
Dyer E, Cassey P, Redding DW, Collen B, Franks V, Gaston KJ et al (2017) The global distribution and drivers of alien bird species richness. PLoS Biol 15:e2000942. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2000942
Early R, Bradley BA, Dukes JS et al (2016) Global threats from invasive alien species in the twenty-first century and national response capacities. Nat Commun 7(1):1–9. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12485
Essl F, Dawson W, Kreft H et al (2019) Drivers of the relative richness of naturalized and invasive plant species on Earth. AoB Plants 11:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plz051
Essl F, Dullinger S, Rabitsch W et al (2011) Socioeconomic legacy yields an invasion debt. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108(1):203–207. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.101172810
Eflora of India, available on https://efloraindia.bsi.gov.in/. Accessed on 20–10–2022
Feng Y, Maurel N, Wang Z et al (2016) Introduction history, climatic suitability, native range size, species traits and their interactions explain establishment of Chinese woody species in Europe. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 25:1356–1366. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12497
Fernandez M, Gregory RD, Hobern D et al (2017) A vision for global monitoring of biological invasions. Biol Cons 213:295–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.06.013
Flowers of India, available on http://www.flowersofindia.net. Accessed on 20–10–2022
Flora of Pakistan available on http://www.efloras.org/flora_page.aspx?flora_id=5,https://biodiversity.bt/. Accessed on 21–10–2022
Gehlenborg N (2019). UpSetR: a more scalable alternative to venn and euler diagrams for visualizing intersecting sets. R package version 1.4.0. https://CRAN.Rproject.org/package=UpSetR
Goncalves E, Herrera I, Duarte M, Bustamante RO, Lampo M, Velasquez G et al (2014) Global invasion of Lantana camara: has the climatic niche been conserved across continents? PLoS ONE 9(10):e111468. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0111468
GRIIS (2022) Available on https://griis.org. Accessed 22 Oct 2022
Gulzar A, Hamid M, Dar FA, Wani SA, Malik AH, Kamili AN... & Khuroo AA, (2022) Patterns of floristic and functional diversity in two treeline ecotone sites of Kashmir Himalaya. Environ Monit Assess 194(6):420
Gupta K, Sankaran KV (2021) Forest biosecurity systems and processes: an Indian Perspective. Front for Glob Change 4:699950. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.699950
Harrison KM (2003) World trends driving horticulture expansion in emerging economies. In: Acta Horticulturae, pp 115–125
Hejda M, Chytrý M, Pergl J, Pyšek P (2015) Native-range habitats of invasive plants: are they similar to invaded-range habitats and do they differ according to the geographical direction of invasion?. Divers Distrib 21(3):312–321
Hulme PE (2021) Advancing one biosecurity to address the pandemic risks of biological invasions. Bioscience 71(7):708–721. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biab019
Hulme PE, Brundu G, Carboni M et al (2018) Integrating invasive species policies across ornamental horticulture supply chains to prevent plant invasions. J Appl Ecol 55:92–98. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12953
Ielmini MR, Sankaran KV (2021) Invasive alien species: a prodigious global threat in the anthropocene. Invasive Alien Spec Observ Issues around World 1:1–79. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119607045.ch1
Inderjit PJ, van Kleunen M et al (2018) Naturalized alien flora of the Indian states: biogeographic patterns, taxonomic structure and drivers of species richness. Biol Invasions 20:1625–1638. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-017-1622-y
IPBES (2019) Available on https://ipbes.net/sites/default/files/inline/files/ipbes_global_assessment_report_summary_for_policymakers.pdf
Jagai JS, Sarkar R, Castronovo D et al (2012) Seasonality of rotavirus in South Asia: a meta-analysis approach assessing associations with temperature, precipitation, and vegetation index. PLoS ONE 7(5):e38168. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038168
Jaryan V, Uniyal SK, Gupta RC et al (2013) Alien Flora of Indian Himalayan State of Himachal Pradesh. Environ Monit Assess 185:6129–6153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-3013-2
Jiang H, Fan Q, Li JT et al (2011) Naturalization of alien plants in China. Biodivers Conserv 20:1545–1556. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-011-0044-x
Kettunen M, Genovesi P, Gollasch S, Pagad S et al (2009) Technical support to EU strategy on invasive species (IAS): assessment of the impacts of IAS in Europe and the EU (final module report for the European Commission). Institute for European Environmental Policy, Brussels
Khalid I, Ahmad T, Ullah S (2022) Environmental impact assessment of CPEC: a way forward for sustainable development. Int J Dev Issues 21(1):159–171
Khuroo AA, Reshi ZA, Rashid I, Dar GH (2011) Towards an integrated research framework and policy agenda on biological invasions in the developing world: a case-study of India. Environ Res 111(7):999–1006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2011.02.011
Khuroo AA, Reshi ZA, Malik AH, Weber E, Rashid I, Dar GH (2012) Alien flora of India: taxonomic composition, invasion status and biogeographic affiliations. Biol Invasions 14(1):99–113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-011-9981-2
Khuroo AA, Ahmad R, Hamid M, Rather ZA et al (2021) An annotated inventory of invasive alien flora of India. Invasive Alien Spec Observ Issues around World 2:16–37
Khuroo AA, Rashid I, Reshi Z, Dar GH, Wafai BA (2007) The alien flora of Kashmir Himalaya. Biol Invasions 9(3):269–292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-006-9032-6
Lake JC, Leishman MR (2004) Invasion success of exotic plants in natural ecosystems: the role of disturbance, plant attributes and freedom from herbivores. Biol Conserv 117(2):215–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(03)00294-5
Lambdon PW, Pyšek P, Basnou C, Hejda M et al (2008) Alien flora of Europe: species diversity, temporal trends, geographical patterns and research needs. Preslia 80:101–149
Latombe G, Pyšek P, Jeschke JM, Blackburn TM et al (2017) A vision for global monitoring of biological invasions. Biol Conserv 213:295–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.06.013
Lenzner B, Latombe G, Schertler A et al (2022) Naturalized alien floras still carry the legacy of European colonialism. Nat Ecol & Evol 6(11):1723–1732. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01865-1
Leostrin A, Pergl J (2021) Alien flora in a boreal region of European Russia: an example of Kostroma oblast. Biol Invasions 23(11):3337–3350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-021-02589-2
Li Y, Shen Z (2020) Roles of dispersal limit and environmental filtering in shaping the spatiotemporal patterns of invasive alien plant diversity in China. Front Ecol Evol 8:544670. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.544670
Mabberley DJ (2017) Mabberley’s Plant-book. Cambridge University Press, Oxford
Májeková J, Jarolímek I, Zaliberová M, Medvecká J (2021) Alien (invasive) vascular plants in Slovakia–a story of successful plant immigrants. Environ Socio Econ Stud 9(4):23–31
Meddour R, Sahar O, Fried G (2020) A preliminary checklist of the alien flora of Algeria (North Africa): taxonomy, traits and invasiveness potential. Bot Lett 167:453–470. https://doi.org/10.1080/23818107.2020.1802775
Mehraj G, Khuroo AA, Qureshi S et al (2018) Patterns of alien plant diversity in the urban landscapes of global biodiversity hotspots: a case study from the Himalayas. Biodivers Conserv 27:1055–1072. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-017-1478-6
Meyer D, Zeileis A, Hornik K, Gerber F et al (2020) Package ‘vcd’. R package version, pp 1–4
Mukul SA, Arfin‐Khan, MAS, Uddin MB (2021) Invasive alien species of Bangladesh. Invasive alien species: observations and issues from around the world vol 2, pp 1–15
Mukul SA, Huq S, Herbohn J et al (2020a) Saving the Sundarbans from development. Science 368(6496):1198. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb9448
Mukul SA, Khan MAS, Uddin MB (2020b) Identifying threats from invasive alien species in Bangladesh. Glob Ecol Conserv 23:e01196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01196
Mujahid I, Urooj F, Ahmad M, Shabbir A (2019) Horticulture trade and spread of alien species in Pakistan: A case study of Sphagneticola trilobata. In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 27–30 March, pp 1–475
Mungi NA, Qureshi Q, Jhala YV (2020) Expanding niche and degrading forests: Key to the successful global invasion of Lantana camara (sensu lato). Glob Ecol Conserv 23:e01080. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01080
Musarella CM, Stinca A, Cano-Ortíz A et al (2020) New data on the alien vascular flora of Calabria (Southern Italy). Ann Di Bot. https://doi.org/10.13133/2239-3129/14838
Nie ZL, Funk VA, Meng Y, Deng T, Sun H, Wen J (2016) Recent assembly of the global herbaceous flora: evidence from the paper daisies (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae). New Phytol 209(4):1795–1806. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13740
Borokini IT, Kortz A, Anibaba QA et al (2023) Alien flora of Nigeria: taxonomy, biogeography, habitats, and ecological impacts. Biol Invasions. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-023-03140-1
Omer A, Kordofani M, Gibreel HH, Pyšek P, van Kleunen M (2021) The alien flora of Sudan and South Sudan: taxonomic and biogeographical composition. Biol Invasions 23(7):2033–2045. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-021-02495-7
Paini DR, Sheppard AW, Cook DC et al (2016) Global threat to agriculture from invasive species. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 113(27):7575–7579. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1602205113
Pathak R, Negi VS, Rawal R et al (2019) Alien plant invasion in the Indian Himalayan Region: state of knowledge and research priorities. Biodivers Conserv 28(12):3073–3102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-019-01829-1
Patzelt A, Pyšek P, Pergl J, van Kleunen M (2022) Alien flora of Oman: invasion status, taxonomic composition, habitats, origin, and pathways of introduction. Biol Invasions 24(4):955–970. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-021-02711-4
Paul R (2020) Phytochemical and antidermatophytic screening of potential medicinal plants. Bioinfolet-A Quart J Life Sci 17(3a):397–402
Peh KSH (2010) Invasive species in Southeast Asia: the knowledge so far. Biodivers Conserv 19(4):1083–1099
POWO (2022) Available on https://powo.science.kew.org. Accessed 20 Oct 2022
Pyšek P (2003) How reliable are data on alien species in Flora Europaea? Flora-Morphol Distrib Funct Ecol Plants 198(6):499–507
Pyšek P, Hulme PE, Simberloff D et al (2020) Scientists’ warning on invasive alien species. Biol Rev 95(6):1511–1534. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12627
Pyšek P, Lambdon PW, Arianoutsou M et al (2009) Alien vascular plants of Europe. In: Daise IE (ed) Handbook of alien species in Europe. Springer, Berlin, pp 43–61
Pyšek P, Meyerson LA, Simberloff D (2018) Introducing “Alien Floras and Faunas”, a new series in biological invasions. Biol Invasions 20(6):1375–1376. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-017-1648-1
Pyšek P, Pergl J, Essl F, Lenzner B et al (2017) Naturalized alien flora of the world. Preslia 89(3):203–274. https://doi.org/10.23855/preslia.2017.203
Pyšek P, Richardson DM, Rejmánek M et al (2004) Alien plants in checklists and floras: towards better communication between taxonomists and ecologists. Taxon 53(1):131–143. https://doi.org/10.2307/4135498
Pyšek P, Sádlo J, Mandák B, Jarošík V (2003) Czech alien flora and the historical pattern of its formation: what came first to Central Europe? Oecologia 135(1):122–130. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-002-1170-7
Pyšek P, Danihelka J, Sádlo J et al (2012) Catalogue of alien plants of the Czech Republic: checklist update, taxonomic diversity and invasion patterns. Preslia 84(2):155–255
R Core Team (2021) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.R-project.org/
Rao RS (1956) Parthenium hysterophorus Linn. A new record for India. J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 54:218–220
Rasheed S, Khuroo AA, Ganie AH et al (2021) Taxonomic Account of Genus Alternanthera (Amaranthaceae) in Jammu and Kashmir. Nelumbo 63(1):158–162. https://doi.org/10.20324/nelumbo/v63/2021/152063
Reddy CS (2008) Catalogue of invasive alien flora of India. Life Sci J 5(2):84–89
Reddy CS, Faseela VS, Unnikrishnan A, Jha CS (2019) Earth observation data for assessing biodiversity conservation priorities in South Asia. Biodivers Conserv 28(8):2197–2219. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-018-1681-0
Reddy CS, Saranya KRL, Pasha SV et al (2018) Assessment and monitoring of deforestation and forest fragmentation in South Asia since the 1930s. Glob Planet Change 161:132–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2017.10.007
Richardson DM, Carruthers J, Hui C et al (2011) Human-mediated introductions of Australian acacias–a global experiment in biogeography. Divers Distrib 17(5):771–787. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2011.00824.x
Rogers KG, Goodbred SL Jr (2014) The Sundarbans and Bengal Delta: the World’s largest tidal mangrove and delta system in landscapes and landforms of India. Springer, Netherlands, pp 181–187
Rojas-Sandoval J, Ferrufino-Acosta L, Flores R et al (2022) Flora introduced and naturalized in Central America. Biol Invasions. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02968-3
Rojas-Sandoval J, Tremblay RL, Acevedo-Rodríguez P et al (2017) Invasive plant species richness in the West Indies: geographical, ecological, and floristic insights. Ecol Evol 859(7):4522–4533. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2984
Sandvik H, Dolmen D, Elven R et al (2019) Alien plants, animals, fungi and algae in Norway: an inventory of neobiota. Biol Invasions 21(10):2997–3012. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-019-02058-x
Sankaran KV, Suresh TA, Sajeev TV (2012) Handbook of invasive plants of Kerala. Kerala Forest Research Institute, Kerala
Sardain A, Sardain E, Leung B (2019) Global forecasts of shippingtraffic and biological invasions to 2050. Nat Sustain 2:274–282. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0245-y
Seebens H, Essl F, Dawson W et al (2015) Global trade will accelerate plant invasions in emerging economies under climate change. Glob Chang Biol 21:4128–4140. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13021
Seebens H, Bacher S, Blackburn TM et al (2021) Projecting the continental accumulation of alien species through to 2050. Glob Chang Biol 27(5):970–982. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15333
Shabbir A, Bajwa R (2006) Distribution of parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus L.), an alien invasive weed species threatening the biodiversity of Islamabad. Weed Biol Manag 6(2):89–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1445-6664.2006.00202.x
Sohrabi S, Naqinezhad A, Kortz A, Hejda M, Gherekhloo JZ, Pyšek P (2023) Alien flora of Iran: species status, introduction dynamics, habitats and pathways. Biol Invasions 25(5):1359–1371
Shrestha BB (2022) Invasive Alien Weeds Problem in South Asia: Challenges and Prospects of their Management. Indian J Weed Sci 54(4):360–369
Shrestha BB, Shabbir A, Adkins SW (2015) Parthenium hysterophorus in Nepal: a review of its weed status and possibilities for management. Weed Res 55(2):132–144. https://doi.org/10.1111/wre.12133
Shrestha BB, Witt AB, Shen S, Khuroo AA et al (2022) Plant invasions in Asia. Global plant invasions. Springer, Cham, pp 89–127
Shrestha HS, Adhikari B, Shrestha BB (2021) Sphagneticola trilobata (Asteraceae): first report of a naturalized plant species for Nepal. Rheedea 31(2):77–81
Shrestha UB, Shrestha BB (2019) Climate change amplifies plant invasion hotspots in Nepal. Divers Distrib 25(10):1599–1612. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12963
Soumya R, Sajeev TV (2020) Introduction of Lantana camara L. and Chromolaena odorata (L.) King and Robins to India and their spread to Kerala: political ecology perspective. Trop Ecol 61:387–399. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42965-020-00095-5
Srinivasan PV (2013) Dynamics of structural transformation in South Asia. Asia Pac Dev J 20(2):53–88
Stohlgren TJ, Pyšek P, Kartesz J et al (2011) Widespread plant species: natives versus aliens in our changing world. Biol Invasions 13(9):1931–1944. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-011-0024-9
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (2012) Available on https://www.fao.org/3/i3028e/i3028e.pdf
Traveset A, Brundu G, Carta L et al (2008) Consistent performance of invasive plant species within and among islands of the Mediterranean basin. Biol Invasions 10:847–858. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-008-9245-y
Uludag A, Aksoy N, Yazlık A et al (2017) Alien flora of Turkey: checklist, taxonomic composition and ecological attributes. NeoBiota 35:61–85. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.35.12460
United Nations (2009) World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision Population Database. http://esa.un.org/wup2009/unup/index.asp
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2022) World Population Prospects 2022: Summary of Results. UN DESA/POP/2022/TR/NO. 3
Val J, Travers SK, Oliver I et al (2020) Perennial plant patches are sinks for seeds in semi-arid woodlands in varying condition. Appl Veg Sci 23(3):377–385. https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12486
van Kleunen M, Dawson W, Essl F et al (2015) Global exchange and accumulation of non-native plants. Nature 525(7567):100–103. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14910
van Kleunen M, Pyšek P, Dawson W et al (2019) The global naturalized alien flora (GloNAF) database. Ecology 100:1
van Rees CB, Hand BK, Carter SC et al (2022) A framework to integrate innovations in invasion science for proactive management. Biol Rev. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12859
Vardien W, Richardson DM, Foxcroft LC et al (2012) Invasion dynamics of Lantana camara L. (sensu lato) in South Africa. S Afr J Bot 81:81–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2012.06.002
Vinogradova Y, Pergl J, Essl F et al (2018) Invasive alien plants of Russia: insights from regional inventories. Biol Invasions 20:1931–1943. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-018-1686-3
Wani SA, Ahmad R, Gulzar R, Rashid I et al (2022) Diversity, distribution and drivers of alien flora in the Indian Himalayan region. Glob Ecol Conserv 38:e02246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02246
Weese TL, Bohs L (2007) A three-gene phylogeny of the genus Solanum (Solanaceae). Syst Bot 32(2):445–463. https://doi.org/10.1600/036364407781179671
Wu SH, Sun HT, Teng YC et al (2010) Patterns of plant invasions in China: taxonomic, biogeographic, climatic approaches and anthropogenic effects. Biol Invasions 12:2179–2206. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-009-9620-3
Acknowledgements
RG, SAW, TH, AAK are highly thankful to the Lab members at Centre for Biodiversity & Taxonomy Lab, University of Kashmir for their kind help. SAM is highly grateful to British Ecological Society (UK), and Centre for Research on Land-use Sustainability (Bangladesh) for supporting fieldwork in Bangladesh. We are highly grateful to Dr Sankaran KV (Kerala, India) for his incisive editing of the manuscript. We are thankful to esteemed Section Editor AFF Series and two reviewers for their valuable suggestions, which have improved the quality of our manuscript.
Funding
AAK acknowledges the financial support by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, under grant order No. BT/PR29607/FCB/125/17/2018. RG and SAW acknowledge the CSIR and University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, Government of India, respectively for providing the fellowship. SP is thankful to FAO of United Nations for providing the financial support under grant number TCP/RAS/3408.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Conceptualization: AAK, CSR; Data curation: RG, AAK, TH, CSR; Formal analysis, Software and Visualization: SAW; Writing – original draft: RG, AAK; Methodology: AAK, RG, CSR; Data validation, Review and editing: AAK, RG, SAW, TH, CSR, BBS, SAM, AS, IMI, SMWR, D, SP, IR; Supervision: AAK, IR; Project administration: AAK; Revision: RG,AAK, SAW.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Gulzar, R., Wani, S.A., Hassan, T. et al. Looking beyond the political boundaries: an integrated inventory of invasive alien flora of South Asia. Biol Invasions 26, 57–78 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-023-03165-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-023-03165-6