INVASIVE
SPECIES - ENVIRONMENT
News:
Plan in place to
eradicate invasive plant species from Kerala’s wildlife habitat
What's
in the news?
●
The Nodal Centre for Biological Invasions
(NCBI) at the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) has come out with a
management plan to eradicate Senna spectabilis, the exotic invasive plant that is posing a
severe threat to the State’s wildlife habitat.
Key
takeaways:
●
Based on the results of the experimental
study done at the Periyar Tiger Reserve,
the plan envisages landscape-level management of the tree.
●
The two key factors considered in
developing the management protocol were the fast nature of the spread of the
tree in natural forests, and restoration of natural forests based on landscape.
Invasive
Alien Species:
●
An alien species is a species introduced outside its natural past or present distribution and
are problematic to the natural habitat.
Features:
Common features of
invasive exotics include
●
The ability to reproduce both asexually
and sexually
●
Fast
growth
●
Rapid
reproduction
●
High dispersal ability
●
Tolerance
of a wide range of environmental conditions
●
Ability to live off of a wide range of food
types.