The Woody Invasive Plant Neltuma juliflora Influences Plant Species Richness and Soil Chemistry in Botswana

IF 2.7 3区环境科学与生态学 Q2 ECOLOGY

Journal of Vegetation Science Pub Date : 2025-09-18 DOI:10.1111/jvs.70069

Tshegofatso Chilume, Kashe Keotshepile, Cate Macinnis-Ng

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Abstract

Aims

Neltuma juliflora (formerly Prosopis juliflora) was introduced to Botswana's Kgalagadi District in the 1980s to combat desertification and bind sand dunes. The species has since spread to the adjacent Gantsi District, and it is currently a pervasive problem in several arid and semi-arid regions. However, studies on the ecological consequences of N. juliflora invasion in Botswana are scarce. We assessed vegetation community characteristics and soil variables in paired invaded and uninvaded plots to explore the impact of N. juliflora invasion.

Location

Savanna rangeland, Gantsi District, Botswana.

Methods

We established 10 × 10 m pairwise plots of invaded (with N. juliflora; n = 20) and uninvaded (without N. julifora; n = 20) communities, and compared them in terms of vegetation characteristics (richness, density, diversity, composition and dominant native species) and soil properties (soil carbon, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, calcium, sodium, pH, nitrogen and cation exchange capacity) and assessed an invasion index.

Results

Invasion of N. juliflora was associated with a significantly lower total species richness (−19%), native species richness (−26%), forb species richness (−34% lower), total plant density (−22%), and native plant density (−29%), while grass species richness and density were unchanged. Diversity indices were lower in invaded plots considering all plant species, native plant species and forbs. Total nitrogen and cation exchange capacity were 36% and 40% higher in invaded plots, respectively.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that N. juliflora invasion is associated with lower native biodiversity and higher values for some soil chemical properties. As uninvaded plots had denser and taller stands of native tree species, maintaining and protecting native vegetation will likely help slow invasion. Further research is needed to understand ongoing impacts and quantify the effect of N. juliflora invasion on ecosystem carbon storage and biodiversity of non-plant taxa.

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木本入侵植物朱莉花对博茨瓦纳植物物种丰富度和土壤化学的影响

20世纪80年代，为了对抗荒漠化和约束沙丘，将Neltuma juliflora（以前称为Prosopis juliflora）引入博茨瓦纳的Kgalagadi地区。该物种已蔓延到邻近的甘斯区，目前在几个干旱和半干旱地区是一个普遍的问题。然而，关于紫叶橐吾入侵博茨瓦纳的生态后果的研究很少。通过对入侵和未入侵配对样地的植被群落特征和土壤变量进行分析，探讨黄绿草木入侵对土壤的影响。地点：稀树草原，甘西区，博茨瓦纳。方法建立10 × 10 m的两两样地，分别为入侵样地（含朱莉花n = 20）和未入侵样地（未含朱莉花n = 20）。n = 20)个群落的植被特征（丰富度、密度、多样性、组成和优势本地物种）和土壤性质（土壤碳、镁、钾、磷、钙、钠、pH、氮和阳离子交换容量）进行了比较，并评估了入侵指数。结果黄花蓟马入侵后，总物种丰富度（- 19%）、本地物种丰富度（- 26%）、forb物种丰富度（- 34%）、总植物密度（- 22%）和本地植物密度（- 29%）显著降低，而禾草物种丰富度和密度保持不变。入侵样地的多样性指数较低，包括所有植物种类、本地植物种类和草本植物。入侵样地总氮交换量和阳离子交换量分别提高36%和40%。结论黄花N. juliflora入侵导致本地生物多样性降低，部分土壤化学性质值升高。由于未被入侵的地块有更密集和更高的本地树种，维护和保护本地植被可能有助于减缓入侵。进一步的研究需要进一步了解和量化黄花N. juliflora入侵对生态系统碳储量和非植物类群生物多样性的影响。

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来源期刊

Journal of Vegetation Science 环境科学-林学

CiteScore

6.00

自引率

3.60%

发文量

审稿时长

2 months

期刊介绍： The Journal of Vegetation Science publishes papers on all aspects of plant community ecology, with particular emphasis on papers that develop new concepts or methods, test theory, identify general patterns, or that are otherwise likely to interest a broad international readership. Papers may focus on any aspect of vegetation science, e.g. community structure (including community assembly and plant functional types), biodiversity (including species richness and composition), spatial patterns (including plant geography and landscape ecology), temporal changes (including demography, community dynamics and palaeoecology) and processes (including ecophysiology), provided the focus is on increasing our understanding of plant communities. The Journal publishes papers on the ecology of a single species only if it plays a key role in structuring plant communities. Papers that apply ecological concepts, theories and methods to the vegetation management, conservation and restoration, and papers on vegetation survey should be directed to our associate journal, Applied Vegetation Science journal.