Management of Alien Plants in Spain
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Management of alien plants in Spain: from prevention to restoration Now that the increasing impacts and costs of invasi- ve species are being recognized, management of alien Gestió de plantes exòtiques a Espanya: species has become an important challenge and a high priority in biodiversity conservation. In Spain, manage- de la prevenció a la restauració ment information on alien plants is quite scattered and in general, there is not much communication between environmental managers and scientists. Many times this is because research on the ecology and management of - nagers. alien species is insufficient or difficult to access by ma The general aim of this thesis is to investigate manage- Ph.D. Thesis: Jara Andreu Ureta ment actions on alien plant species and the main limi- September 2011 most problematic alien plant species in Spain, and we assesstations theof thesemain measures.criteria used Specifically, to prioritize we theiridentify mana the- Supervisor: Montserrat Vilà Planella Tutor: Francisco Lloret Maya invasive species in Spain, not yet present in the wild. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals gement. This thesis also identifies and ranks potentially Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Globally, we conduct a meta-analysis on the impacts of invasive plant species and the consequences of their re- moval on native species richness and abundance. As a Management of alien plants in Spain: from prevention to restoration restoration to prevention Management of alien plants in Spain: from - val of Carpobrotus in coastal Andalucía, and the recovery ofcase the study, native we vegetation evaluate theafter efficacy the invasive of the plantmanual removal. remo 2011 Jara Andreu Ureta Ureta Andreu Jara Ph.D. Thesis Ph.D. Management of alien plants in Spain: from prevention to restoration Gestió de plantes exòtiquesPh.D. Thesis a Espanya: de la prevenció a la restauració Memòria presentada per: Jara Andreu Ureta per a optar al grau de Doctora Directora: Montserrat Vilà Planella Amb el vist‐i‐plau de: Tutor: Francisco Lloret Maya Programa de Doctorat en Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Bellaterra, setembre de 2011 Supervisor Dra. Montserrat Vilà Planella Professor of Research Department of Integrative Ecology Doñana Biological Station – CSIC (EBD‐CSIC) Sevilla – Spain Tutor Dr. Francisco Lloret Maya University Professor Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) & Centre for Ecological Reserach and Forestry Applications (CREAF) Bellaterra, Barcelona – Spain 2 Als meus pares, per tot el seu suport 3 4 Table of contents Agraïments ..............................................................................................................................9 Capítol 1: Introducció general........................................................................................11 Les invasions biològiques......................................El process d’invasió: definicions......................................................................................................................13.................... Factors que determinen l’èxit d’invasió..............................................................14 17 Gestió de les invasions biològiques............................Prevenció...................................................................................................................................................19 ........................... Detecció rápida i eradicació....................................................................................20 Contenció i control.......................................................................................................21 Manteniment, restauració i seguiment...............................................................22 23 Marc legislatiu per a la gestió de les invasions biològiques.................................24 ChapterObjectius i estructura de la tesi.............................. 1: General introduction......................................................................................................................25 ........................29 B iological invasions..........................................The invasion process: definitions................................................................................................................................................31 Factors determining invasion success.................................................................32 35 Management of biological invasions............................Prevention.......................................................................................................................................................................37 .. Early detection and eradication............................................................................38 Containment and control..........................................................................................39 Manteinance, restoration and monitoring........................................................39 41 Legislative framework for the management of biological invasions...............42 Thesis objectives and outline............................................................................................43 5 Chapter 2: An assessment of stakeholder perceptions and management of noxius alien plants in Spain.............................................................................................47 Abstract.......................................................................................................................................48 Introduction..............................................................................................................................49 Methods......................................................................................................................Study region....................................................................................................................................50 Questionnaire survey..................................................................................................50 Data analysis..................................................................................................................51 53 Results......................................................................................................................General perceptions regarding the threat of biological invasions............................54 Identity, status and occurrence of noxious alien species............................54 Perception of impacts of alien species.................................................................55 Management and costs of alien species..............................................................59 61 Discussion..................................................................................................................................64 Conclusions...............................................................................................................................66 Chapter Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. 3: Risk analysis of potential invasive plants in Spain............................67....66 Abstract.......................................................................................................................................68 Introduction..............................................................................................................................69 Methods......................................................................................................................Preselection of species................................................................................................................70 Risk assessment schemes description..................................................................70 71 Results and discussion.......................................................................................................Characteristics of potential invaders.....................................................................73 Ranking potential invaders......................................................................................73 76 Conclusions...............................................................................................................................79 Acknowledgments..................................................................................................................80 6 Chapter 4: Native plant community response to alien plant invasion and removal: a review................................................................................................................81 Abstract.......................................................................................................................................82 Introduction..............................................................................................................................83 Methods.......................................................................................................................Literature search.........................................................................................................................86 Data extraction.............................................................................................................86 Metaanalysis .................................................................................................................86 87 Results