Mikania micrantha(Asteraceae)is an invasive vine found in tropical and southern subtropical Asian and the Pacifc Islands.The current methods used to control this vine are inadequate,which warrants the development of e...Mikania micrantha(Asteraceae)is an invasive vine found in tropical and southern subtropical Asian and the Pacifc Islands.The current methods used to control this vine are inadequate,which warrants the development of ecologically sustainable methods.Therefore,we investigated the ability of four grass species to prevent the invasion of M.micrantha,with an ultimate goal of developing ecologically sustainable control methods for widespread application.The clumps of native grass species from China(Panicum incomtum,Pennisetum purpureum,Saccharum arundinaceum and Microstegium vagans)were established.We sowed M.micrantha seeds and transplanted the seedlings into the grass clumps to examine whether the clumps could eliminate the new M.micrantha plants.In addition,we transplanted M.micrantha into existing grass clumps to examine whether the grass clumps could prevent the re-invasion of M.micrantha.Furthermore,we grew M.micrantha with P.incomtum and P.purpureum in the feld to examine whether the grasses could outcompete M.micrantha.Mikania micrantha seeds germinated hardly in the grass clumps,and all seedlings died within 3 months.It was diffcult for the vine to survive in the grass clumps.Our feld experiments showed that the coverage of M.micrantha was signifcantly lower than that of the grass species in the frst year,and that the vine was outcompeted after 2 years.To the best of our knowledge,this study is the frst to reveal that tall grasses,particularly P.incomtum and P.purpureum,have potential to serve as bio-control agents for M.micrantha.展开更多
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Project 30570330 and 30370243)Hongda Zhang Scientifc Research Fund,Sun Yat-Sen University,and Shenzhen Greening Committee:Non-Environmental Disruptive Control of Mikania micrantha(2010-13)Ecological Forestry Special Fund,Forestry Administration of Guangdong Province(KH2101501).
文摘Mikania micrantha(Asteraceae)is an invasive vine found in tropical and southern subtropical Asian and the Pacifc Islands.The current methods used to control this vine are inadequate,which warrants the development of ecologically sustainable methods.Therefore,we investigated the ability of four grass species to prevent the invasion of M.micrantha,with an ultimate goal of developing ecologically sustainable control methods for widespread application.The clumps of native grass species from China(Panicum incomtum,Pennisetum purpureum,Saccharum arundinaceum and Microstegium vagans)were established.We sowed M.micrantha seeds and transplanted the seedlings into the grass clumps to examine whether the clumps could eliminate the new M.micrantha plants.In addition,we transplanted M.micrantha into existing grass clumps to examine whether the grass clumps could prevent the re-invasion of M.micrantha.Furthermore,we grew M.micrantha with P.incomtum and P.purpureum in the feld to examine whether the grasses could outcompete M.micrantha.Mikania micrantha seeds germinated hardly in the grass clumps,and all seedlings died within 3 months.It was diffcult for the vine to survive in the grass clumps.Our feld experiments showed that the coverage of M.micrantha was signifcantly lower than that of the grass species in the frst year,and that the vine was outcompeted after 2 years.To the best of our knowledge,this study is the frst to reveal that tall grasses,particularly P.incomtum and P.purpureum,have potential to serve as bio-control agents for M.micrantha.
