PARENT SESSION
Contributed Oral Session 158: Invasive Species: Management, Modeling, and Dynamics
Friday, August 12, 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM, Meeting Room 518 A, Level 5, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Non-native plants moving into protected areas: A landscape approach for south-central Chile.
Pauchard, Aníbal*,1, Bustamante, Ramiro2, Marticorena, Alicia1, Jiménez, Alejandra1, Cavieres, Lohengrin1, 1 Universidad de Concepción, Chile2 Universidad de Chile, Chile
ABSTRACT- Non-native (alien) plant invasions are considered a major threat to protected areas worldwide. However, little is known about invasion patterns and processes in developing countries of the southern hemisphere. We used 50 by 2 m transects to sample non-native and native vascular plants using a landscape approach in seven protected areas of south-Central Chile. Transects were located inside protected areas and outside them to account for the anthropogenic disturbance gradient. For each transect along roadsides, we sampled an additional transect 50 m inside the vegetation cover. We found that non-native plant species concentrate along roadsides, with only a few capable of percoling into forest interiors. In pastures and other open vegetations, a larger number of non-native species can be found. Non-native species in protected areas are typically a subsample of the species found in protected areas matrices, being in most cases, less diverse and less abundant. Elevation also appears as a significant factor associated to species richness and abundance. There is no consistent relationship between native and non-native species richness. We hypothesize that most non-native species are adapted to open, nutrient rich environments and therefore have difficulties in invading pristine forested areas, which are frequent conditions in protected areas of south-central Chile. Our results emphasize the need for a landscape approach to the study and management of non-native species in protected areas.
Key words: alien plants, roads, forest edges, natural areas