- Title
- Can local use assist in controlling invasive alien species in tropical forests?: The case of Lantana camara in southern India
- Creator
- Kannan, Ramesh, Shackleton, Charlie M, Krishnan, Smitha, Shaanker, Ramanan U
- Subject
- To be catalogued
- Date
- 2016
- Type
- text
- Type
- article
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/180423
- Identifier
- vital:43387
- Identifier
- xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2016.06.016"
- Description
- Many invasive alien species (IAS) are used by local communities for a variety of subsistence and income generating purposes. This frequently poses a conflict of interest for their removal due to forest conservation and biodiversity concerns. However, if local use can simultaneously check or control specific IAS, the conflict can be avoided and both development and forest conservation perspectives accommodated in the short to medium term. We examine this for Lantana camara invasion in southern India through assessment of the demand for and impacts of harvesting on this globally problematic IAS. We interviewed local artisans regarding their knowledge and quantities of Lantana used, along with forest surveys to estimate Lantana densities and size classes in harvested and unharvested sites, and lastly we undertook controlled cutting in moist and dry deciduous forests in both the wet and dry seasons to examine rate of regrowth and mortality. Over the entire study area the abundance of Lantana far outweighed local demand, but at small scales around villages, density and size classes were significantly reduced through harvesting. The controlled cutting experiment showed marked seasonal differences, with the most severe cutting intensity resulting in significant mortality when Lantana plants were cut in the wet season, but with limited effect when cut in the dry season. We conclude that promoting local use of IAS may be a feasible approach in controlling them and thereby limiting their impacts in forests.
- Format
- computer, online resource, application/pdf, 1 online resource (8 pages), pdf
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Language
- English
- Relation
- Forest Ecology and Management, Kannan, R., Shackleton, C.M., c. and Shaanker, R.U., 2016. Can local use assist in controlling invasive alien species in tropical forests? The case of Lantana camara in southern India. Forest Ecology and Management, 376, pp.166-173, Forest Ecology and Management volume 376 p. 166 2016 0378-1127
- Rights
- Publisher
- Rights
- Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Elsevier Terms and Conditions Statement (https://www.elsevier.com/legal/elsevier-website-terms-and-conditions)
- Rights
- Closed Access
- Hits: 1953
- Visitors: 1996
- Downloads: 62
Collections
RU DST/NRF SARChI for Interdisciplinary Science in Land and Natural Resource Use for Sustainable Livelihoods
RU Department of Environmental Science
Shackleton, Charles Michael (Distinguished Prof)
SDG 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 15. Life On Land
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details | SOURCE1 | Can local use assist in controlling invasive alien species in tropical forests The case of Lantana camara in southern India.pdf | 711 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details |