Expected spatial patterns of alien woody plants in South Africa's protected areas under current scenario of climate change.

ABSTRACT: Although protected areas (PAs) are declared to provide sanctuaries for biodiversity, they are increasingly threatened by the synergistic effects of anthropic factors, invasive alien species and climate change. Consequently, interventions are required to minimize the impacts of these threats on PAs' integrity. To inform these interventions in the South African context and under the current climate change scenario, we tested for geographic patterns of alien woody species across the network of 1,453 PAs using three alien invasion indices - alien species abundance, invaded area ratio and alien species richness. Our analysis shows that, under current climate change scenario, none of the PAs would be effective in shielding against alien plants and PAs that are geographically close tend to share

SUBMITTER: Bezeng BS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7184613 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature