Abstract Detail

Ecology

Culley, Theresa [1], Serota, Tziporah [2], Dreisilker, Kurt [3], Ryan, Clair [4], Landel, Hans [5], Shultz, Brittany [6].

The role of horticulture in plant invasions in North America: Past origins and future implications.

Invasive species are the second leading cause of biodiversity loss worldwide and the introduction of non-native species, especially those of horticultural value, continues today.  To help prevent future invasions and their ecological impacts, we conducted a literature review of the history of invasive woody and herbaceous species in the Midwestern United States, updating a previous review of woody plants in North America by Reichard and White in 2001. Each invasive species was categorized as having been introduced accidentally or intentionally (for agricultural, ornamental, culinary or medical, aquarium, and/or erosion purposes). Consistent with the earlier review, we found that most invasive plants have been introduced intentionally, although more so for woody species (94.3%) than for herbaceous species (49.5%).  Of these intentional introductions, the most common method was through the ornamental trade, comprising 93.9% of woody intentional introductions (88.6% of all introductions) and 58.9% for herbaceous intentional introductions (29.2% of all introductions).  In the second part of our study, we focused on collections of non-native taxa in public gardens to identify plants that may have a propensity to spread from cultivation, the first sign of invasive behavior.  Using data collected by six public gardens, institutions that have historically imported and closely monitored non-native species of ornamental origin, we identified taxa that were listed by these gardens as of concern within their collections. Many taxa have already been removed from the collections or are being closely monitored because of their tendency to spread. There were 844 plant species and cultivars identified as being problematic across all gardens, but with no single species reported across all six gardens. In contrast, 10 species and cultivars were identified as being problematic across five gardens, 17 taxa across four gardens, 34 taxa across three gardens, and 129 taxa across two gardens.  Many species and cultivars escaping collections in the public gardens are important in the horticultural trade and do not appear on any state lists of invasive species, indicating that public gardens may act as important early sentinels of plant invasion in North America.  The combination of past historical data from the literature and data being collected in public gardens indicates that horticulture has been and remains today as one of the major sources of invasive, non-native plant species in North America.

1 - University Of Cincinnati, Department Of Biological Sciences, 614 Rieveschl Hall, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, United States
2 - University of Cincinnati, Biological Sciences, 614 Rieveschl, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA
3 - The Morton Arboretum, Natural Resources and Collections, 4100 Illinois Route 53, Lisle, IL, 60532, USA
4 - The Morton Arboretum, Midwest Invasive Plant Network, 4100 Illinois Route 53, Lisle, IL, 60532, USA
5 - Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin78739-1702, 4801 La Crosse Avenue , Austin, TX, 78739-1702, USA
6 - Missouri Botanic Garden, Plant Records, 4344 Shaw Blvd, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

Keywords:
invasive plants
horticulture
Gardens
woody
herbaceous
ornamental.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: ECO2, Ecology 2: Invasive Plant Species
Location: Tucson A/Starr Pass
Date: Tuesday, July 30th, 2019
Time: 11:15 AM
Number: ECO2012
Abstract ID:812
Candidate for Awards:None