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Vol.4 , No. 1, Publication Date: Jun. 7, 2017, Page: 1-6
 Ooststr in Natural Forests in Wuzhi Mountain, Hainan Island&description=<i>Merremia boisiana</i> (Gagnep.) Ooststr. (Convolvulaceae), a perennial evergreen woody vine in South Asia that is rapidly increasing its abundance and geographical range, has become a pest to forests in Hainan during the last two decades. <i>M. boisiana</i> typically invades secondary forests, shrub lands, and open woodlands, but has now expanded to natural forests in Wuzhi Mountain where there is tourism-associated disturbance. We did some survey and transplantation experiment to examine (1) where can seedlings of <i>M. boisiana</i> emerge, and (2) where do emerged seedlings have the potential to grow larger (e.g., reach the forest canopy). Surveys found that mature plants and emerged seedlings of <i>M. boisiana</i> were mainly distributed within 20 m from the tourist path, but a few reached the forest interior by more than 40 m. There were emerged seedlings in most of the plots where there were mature plants of <i>M. boisiana</i> in the forest canopy. Larger seedlings were nearer to the forest edge (within 6.19 m to the tourist path) compared with mature plants and small seedlings of <i>M. boisiana</i>. The transplant experiment further indicated that emerged seedlings could not survive in the forest interior, but a proportion of them could survive on the forest edge. These findings probably suggest that seedlings of <i>M. boisiana</i> cannot survive in the forest understory, but they may establish in disturbed sites and then expand to the forest interior through stolon elongation and climbing growth. Management of <i>M. boisiana</i> in natural forests in Wuzhi Mountain should focus on disturbed sites and canopy gaps near the tourist path to remove larger seedlings which have the potential to reach the forest canopy.&picture=http://www.aascit.org/aascit/decorators/img/journal/903.jpg)
| [1] | Qiaoqiao Huang, Environment and Plant Protection Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, China. |
| [2] | Yide Shen, Environment and Plant Protection Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, China. |
| [3] | Xiaoxia Li, Environment and Plant Protection Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, China. |
| [4] | Zhiwei Fan, Environment and Plant Protection Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, China. |
Merremia boisiana (Gagnep.) Ooststr. (Convolvulaceae), a perennial evergreen woody vine in South Asia that is rapidly increasing its abundance and geographical range, has become a pest to forests in Hainan during the last two decades. M. boisiana typically invades secondary forests, shrub lands, and open woodlands, but has now expanded to natural forests in Wuzhi Mountain where there is tourism-associated disturbance. We did some survey and transplantation experiment to examine (1) where can seedlings of M. boisiana emerge, and (2) where do emerged seedlings have the potential to grow larger (e.g., reach the forest canopy). Surveys found that mature plants and emerged seedlings of M. boisiana were mainly distributed within 20 m from the tourist path, but a few reached the forest interior by more than 40 m. There were emerged seedlings in most of the plots where there were mature plants of M. boisiana in the forest canopy. Larger seedlings were nearer to the forest edge (within 6.19 m to the tourist path) compared with mature plants and small seedlings of M. boisiana. The transplant experiment further indicated that emerged seedlings could not survive in the forest interior, but a proportion of them could survive on the forest edge. These findings probably suggest that seedlings of M. boisiana cannot survive in the forest understory, but they may establish in disturbed sites and then expand to the forest interior through stolon elongation and climbing growth. Management of M. boisiana in natural forests in Wuzhi Mountain should focus on disturbed sites and canopy gaps near the tourist path to remove larger seedlings which have the potential to reach the forest canopy.
Keywords
Biological Invasion, Canopy, Seedling Emergence, Forest Understory, Lianas, Resistance
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