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Every year, a number of new forest pathosystems are discovered as the result of introduction of alien pathogens, host shifts and jumps, hybridization and recombination among pathogens, etc. Disease outbreaks may also be favored by climate change and forest management. The mechanisms driving the resurgence of native pathogens and the invasion of alien ones need to be better understood in order to draft sustainable control strategies. For this Special Issue, we welcome population biology studies providing insights on the epidemiology and invasiveness of emergent forest pathogens possibly by contrasting different scenarios varying in pathogen and host populations size, genetics, phenotype and phenology, landscape fragmentation, occurrence of disturbances, management practices, etc. Both experimental and monitoring approaches are welcome. In summary, this special issue focuses on how variability in hosts, pathogens, or ecology may affect the emergence of new threats to plant species.

Forest pathogens --- Fungi --- Disease outbreaks --- Genetic variability --- Invasion --- Landscape fragmentation --- Disturbances --- Forest Management --- Alien species

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Invasive alien plants pose a major threat to agriculture, the natural environment and livelihoods worldwide and create challenges for development. This is especially the case for those who live and work in rural areas. This book, for the first time, brings together a wide range of invasive plant specialists from the Asia-Pacific region who shares their experience in addressing the problem and delivering solutions. Mikania micrantha is used as case study in the book as it exemplifies many of the issues that need to be addressed. This neotropical vine is a major weed across the tropical humid zones of the region, where it smothers agroforestry, home gardens, natural forests and plantation production systems. The book emphasises the social and economic implications of plant invasion, and discusses direct impacts on livelihoods and biodiversity. It explains how various approaches to management including traditional ecological knowledge and classical biological control can be keys to the delivery of sustainable solutions, focusing on experiences in India, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and China. The use of policy frameworks in biological control and other management measures are also described.

Mikania micrantha --- plants --- agriculture --- attitudes --- biological control --- economic impact --- environmental impact --- introduced species --- invasive alien species --- invasive species --- livelihoods

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Both in Ethiopia and in the countries of East Africa, the continuing proliferation and spread of invasive alien species (IAS) is now recognized as a serious problem, which needs to be addressed. While this situation has improved dramatically over the past 10 years, further progress has been hampered by the absence, hitherto, of a comprehensive IAS database for the region. Countries in the region have repeatedly expressed the need for such a database, as a tool to assist in the identification of naturalized and invasive alien plant species, and in understanding their impacts, both existing and potential, while also providing pointers on what can be done to manage such species. This information is seen as essential, not only in enabling countries to develop effective IAS management strategies, but also in helping them to meet their obligations under various international agreements and treaties, including Article 8 (h) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Target 9 of the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets. In providing such a database, this Guide is intended to give the countries of eastern Africa the information they require, in order to be able to develop effective strategies for combating the growing menace posed by invasive alien plants. It is further hoped that this Guide will foster increased regional collaboration, in responding to the challenges of managing shared invasive plant species. The Guide is based on the findings of extensive roadside surveys, carried out throughout the region, and on a review of the literature pertaining to naturalization and/or invasiveness among alien plants in eastern Africa. By this means, scores of exotic plant species were found to have escaped from cultivation, and to have established populations in the 'wild', to the detriment of natural resources and the millions of people in the region who depend on these resources. Included in the Guide are descriptions of roughly 200 exotic plant species which are either invasive already or which are deemed to have the potential to become invasive in the region. The profiled species include aquatic invasive plants or waterweeds (seven species); vines, creepers or climbers (20 species); terrestrial herbs, shrubs, and succulents (more than 30 species of each), and trees (more than 60 species). Also profiled in this Guide are many exotic plant species which, although their current distribution in the region may still be relatively localized, nevertheless have the potential to become considerably more widespread and problematic. The wide range of habitats and climatic conditions found within Ethiopia and across East Africa make the region as a whole particularly prone to invasions by a host of introduced plant species. Such invasions are being facilitated by increased land degradation, especially through overgrazing and deforestation, and also by climate change.

Plants --- aquatic organisms --- aquatic plants --- aquatic weeds --- databases --- introduced species --- invasive alien species --- invasive species --- weed control --- weeds --- climate change --- alien invasive species --- aquatic species --- data banks --- exotic organisms --- exotic species --- introduced organisms --- invasive organisms --- invasives --- non-indigenous organisms --- non-indigenous species --- non-native organisms --- non-native species --- nonindigenous organisms --- nonindigenous species --- subsaharan Africa --- climatic change --- Africa South of Sahara --- East Africa --- Africa South of Sahara --- Africa --- eukaryotes

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The impetus for the development of this Field Guide came about as a result of pleas from the community around the village of Doldol, Laikipia County, to initiate a control programme for Australian prickly pear [Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw.; Fabaceae], an invasive plant which was having a dramatic impact on livelihoods. However, a number of other exotic plants, which were less widespread, but had the potential of becoming invasive, were not seen as a potential problem. In order to avoid a similar situation from arising in the future, the community expressed a need for a Field Guide, which would include descriptions of naturalized and invasive species already present in, and those that were most likely to invade Laikipia County and, information on how best to manage them. An additional impetus was to contribute to the four main objectives of the National Strategy and Action Plan for the Management of Invasive Species in Kenya's Protected Areas. The Field Guide contributes in some or other way to all of these objectives which are to (i) Enhance awareness of invasive species to relevant actors; (ii) Prevent new invasions, manage established invasions and rehabilitate degraded habitats; (iii) Enhance research, monitoring and information management on invasive species; and (iv) Enhance capacity, resource mobilization and coordination. Extensive surveys revealed the presence of a number of introduced plant species which had escaped cultivation and established populations in the 'wild' to the detriment of natural resources and the people that depend on them. Introduced succulents, especially those in the genus Opuntia (Cactaceae), were found to be the most widespread and abundant invasive species in the semi-arid regions in the north and east of Laikipia County. Other succulents, those in the genus Bryophyllum (Crassulaceae), were also found to have escaped cultivation and were locally abundant. In the higher rainfall areas to the west and southwest, introduced trees such as black wattle (Acacia mearnsii De Wild.; Fabaceae) and Australian blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon R. Br.; Fabaceae) and the shrubs/climbers, Mauritius thorn [Caesalpinia decapetala (Roth) Alston; Fabaceae] and yellow cestrum (Cestrum aurantiacum Lindl.; Solanaceae), were invasive. Introduced plants, which have the potential to become problematic in Laikipia, unless eradicated or controlled, have also been included in the Guide. This includes species such as famine weed (Parthenium hysterophorus L.; Asteraceae) and 'mathenge' [Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC.; Fabaceae], which are already abundant in areas adjoining the County.

Acacia mearnsii --- Acacia melanoxylon --- Caesalpinia decapetala --- Cestrum aurantiacum --- Opuntia stricta --- Parthenium hysterophorus --- plants --- Prosopis juliflora --- introduced species --- invasions --- invasive alien species --- invasive species --- weed control --- weeds --- alien invasive species --- blackwood --- Bryophyllum --- common prickly pear --- exotic organisms --- exotic species --- introduced organisms --- invasive organisms --- invasives --- late black wattle --- non-indigenous organisms --- non-indigenous species --- non-native organisms --- non-native species --- nonindigenous organisms --- nonindigenous species --- subsaharan Africa --- Africa South of Sahara --- Kenya --- Acacia --- Mimosoideae --- Fabaceae --- Fabales --- eudicots --- angiosperms --- Spermatophyta --- plants --- eukaryotes --- Caesalpinia --- Caesalpinioideae --- Cestrum --- Solanaceae --- Solanales --- ACP Countries --- Anglophone Africa --- Africa --- Commonwealth of Nations --- Developing Countries --- East Africa --- Africa South of Sahara --- Opuntia --- Cactaceae --- Caryophyllales --- Parthenium --- Asteraceae --- Asterales --- Prosopis

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This open access volume presents a comprehensive account of all aspects of biological invasions in South Africa, where research has been conducted over more than three decades, and where bold initiatives have been implemented in attempts to control invasions and to reduce their ecological, economic and social effects. It covers a broad range of themes, including history, policy development and implementation, the status of invasions of animals and plants in terrestrial, marine and freshwater environments, the development of a robust ecological theory around biological invasions, the effectiveness of management interventions, and scenarios for the future. The South African situation stands out because of the remarkable diversity of the country, and the wide range of problems encountered in its varied ecosystems, which has resulted in a disproportionate investment into both research and management. The South African experience holds many lessons for other parts of the world, and this book should be of immense value to researchers, students, managers, and policy-makers who deal with biological invasions and ecosystem management and conservation in most other regions.

Biodiversity --- Conservation Biology/Ecology --- Ecology --- Animal Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography --- Ecosystems --- Plant Pathology --- Freshwater and Marine Ecology --- Biological Taxonomy --- South Africa --- Terrestrial --- Vertebrate invasions --- Aquatic plants --- Freshwater ecosystems --- Invasive biota --- Prince Edward Islands --- Coastal invasions --- Pathogens --- Urban invasions --- Alien organisms --- Abiotic factors --- Agricultural crops --- Invasive insect pests --- Open Access --- Conservation of the environment --- Ecological science, the Biosphere --- Zoology & animal sciences --- Taxonomy & systematics --- Botany & plant sciences