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Invasive Prosopis juliflora replacing the Native Floral Community over three decades: a case study of a World Heritage Site, Keoladeo National Park, India

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Abstract

A biodiversity assessment of any region is a fundamental necessity towards implementing an efficient conservation action plan. The alteration of habitat and vegetation composition through the successful invasion of non-indigenous species can be a serious management issue. The most prominent threat resulting in a rapid decline of native plant communities is the competition and indirect effects of alien plant species. In this study, we aim to assess the spread of invasive Prosopis juliflora and its consequences on the native flora over a span of three decades in Keoladeo National Park, India. The community structure was assessed by gridding the entire park with quadrates laid systematically. We recorded a total of 7179 individual plants, of which 3667 individuals were woody trees representing 26 species and 3512 individuals were shrubs belonging to 25 species. The invasive P. juliflora represented a maximum number of individuals among both trees (n = 957) and shrubs (n = 1560), and appears to be the dominant shrub species (IVI-74.96; SDI-0.14). The spatial comparison of species dominance (1985–2015) showed a significant increase in the dominance of P. juliflora (Z = 5.14, p < 0.00), replacing the dominant native species, including Acacia nilotica, Mitragyna parvifolia, Prosopis cineraria, Salvadora oleoides, Salvadora persica and Ziziphus mauritiana. The classified images also confirm an increase in spatial extent of both pure stands of invasive P. juliflora (from 4.02 to 16.46%) and open scrub dominant with P. juliflora thickets (from 2.16 to 50.94%). The article also discusses possible reasons of the high invasibility of P. juliflora, particularly its high allelopathic (inhibition) effect and highlights conservation management issues in the region. These issues deserve careful consideration to help safeguard the entire ecosystem of this world heritage site.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Rajasthan; Additional PCCF, Rajasthan; Mrs. Namita J. Priyadarshee, Chief Conservator of Forests, Bharatpur; and Mr. Anoop K.R., Dr. Khyati Mathur and Mr. Bijo Joy, Park Directors and Dy. Conservator of Forests, for permission to undertake field work in Keoladeo National Park [No. 3(04)- 11/CWLW/2010/9823]. This paper is an outcome of a research project on burrow dwelling animals at Keoladeo National Park, funded by the Science and Engineering Research Board of Department of Science and Technology (SERB No: SB/SO/AS-133/2012), Government of India. We thank the Director of the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore for providing facilities and encouragement. We thank Dr. S. Babu, SACON for help in GIS. We profusely thank Dr. Matthew A. Cooper, Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA for copyediting this article. We are sincerely indebted to Dr. Eckehard Brockerhoff, Associate Editor, Biodiversity and Conservation, Anonymous Reviewers and Mr. Arijit Pal, SACON, for their critical comments and suggestions in improving the manuscript. We appreciate Randhir Singh and Jitendra Singh for their help in the field.

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  1. Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatty (Post), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 108, India

    Aditi Mukherjee, Avadhoot Dilip Velankar & Honnavalli Nagaraj Kumara

  2. Manipal University, Madhav Nagar, Manipal, Karnataka, 576 104, India

    Aditi Mukherjee & Avadhoot Dilip Velankar

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  1. Aditi Mukherjee
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Correspondence to Honnavalli Nagaraj Kumara.

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Communicated by Eckehard G. Brockerhoff.

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Mukherjee, A., Velankar, A.D. & Kumara, H.N. Invasive Prosopis juliflora replacing the Native Floral Community over three decades: a case study of a World Heritage Site, Keoladeo National Park, India. Biodivers Conserv 26, 2839–2856 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-017-1392-y

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