Experts are concerned after discovering significant biodiversity loss in southern Asia.
What's happening?
In research published in the journal Nature Sustainability, scientists examined more than 1 million records from the National Tiger Conservation Authority. These records detailed vegetation trends between 2006 and 2022 across more than 100,000 square miles of India.
As The Times of India observed, the experts found that the spread of invasive plants had been dramatically reducing food available to herbivores, which in turn has hurt the supply of tiger prey.
The study concluded that almost two-thirds of natural habitats in India were hosting 11 major invasive plants. Some invasive species were even able to double their footprint in the span of the study's scope.
According to researchers, the spread of invasive species has been exacerbated by shifting climate trends, widespread human transportation, and degradation of natural habitat.
Why are invasive plants concerning?
When moved from their native habitat, plants and animals are free from the checks and balances they evolved with.
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In a new home, they can become invasive, outcompeting local species, establishing monopolies on vital resources, and driving down biodiversity.
"At current rates, entire ecosystems could shift from native to invasive dominance within a generation," said report author Ninad Mungi, per The Times. "These plants are moving faster than we can manage or even monitor them."
The researchers estimated that over the course of 60 years, invasive species have incurred $127.3 billion in costs in India. Others have pegged the damages from invasive species globally at hundreds of billions of dollars every year.
What's being done about invasive species?
On an individual basis, a yard full of native species can limit the growth of invasive plants and help prop up local wildlife, especially embattled pollinators.
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Definitely 👍 On a larger scale, researchers encouraged the creation of national invasive species control measures, including monitoring, management, quarantine, and financing.
"Such a mission would integrate invasion control into climate adaptation, poverty alleviation, and restoration programs," Mungi said, per The Times.
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