Biological invasions are a threat to protected areas globally; however, the relative lack of studies quantifying the ecological impacts impairs informed decision-making. We selected three annual alien plants, widespread in the riparian habitats of the Kruger National Park, South Africa: Datura innoxia, Parthenium hysterophorus, and Xanthium strumarium, to examine their potential impacts on riparian plant communities. We identified 12–13 populations for each and placed a pair of invaded and uninvaded plots in each population. Species richness, Shannon diversity, and Pielou evenness were compared between the invaded and uninvaded plots using LMM models, and species composition was compared using ordination. The invaded vegetation showed lower species richness compared to the uninvaded, with the strongest effect observed for P. hysterophorus. The invaded plots also showed lower Shannon diversity and Pielou evenness due to the presence of alien dominants. For all three invaders, the invasion resulted in changes in the composition of native vegetation. Some native plants were more frequent and abundant in the invaded vegetation, possibly due to the habitats created in sandy river beds. The native species richness decreased with increasing invader cover, but the species richness of aliens accompanying the invasive dominants was not negatively affected by their cover. Our results confirmed the negative impact of invasive aliens on native plant diversity, with the most pronounced effect by Parthenium hysterophorus invasions.

Perennial pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium L. # LEPLA) is a serious weed of meadows and riparian habitats in the intermountain area of the western United States. Germination of seeds of this species was tested at 55 constant- and alternating-temperature regimes. No significant differences were found in mean germination at a range of temperatures varying from 0 to 40 C for seedlots collected at the same site in different years or at different locations in the same year. Optimum germination not significantly (P = 0.01) lower than the maximum observed occurred most frequently at 5/40 C (5 C for 16 h and 40 C for 8 h), and 10/40 and 15/40 C. Germination was enhanced by alternating regimes with low night temperatures (0, 2, or 5 C) and high day temperatures (35 and 40 C), in comparison with more moderate constant-temperature regimes.

Understanding the ecological distribution range of exotic trees in an arboreal ecosystem is essential to managing natural forest resources sustainably. Forest resource mapping can be applied as a powerful tool in the identification of forest resource threat patterns, and in monitoring ongoing changes associated with a landscape. This study offers an insight on Russian-olive and its impact on a spatially bound ecosystem, namely, Bismarck–Mandan Wildland–Urban Interface (BMWUI). Data from the National Agricultural Imagery Program collected in 2005 and 2010 and in situ reference data were used to estimate the potential habitat of Russian-olive using ArcGIS ArcInfo® 9.3 (ESRI, Redlands, CA). Russian-olive plants are discernible on aerial photographs with a fine spatial resolution because of silvery gray-green leaves in the upper strata of their canopies. Results showed that Russian-olive occupied 110 ha (272 acres) in BMWUI in 2005 and of that, 13 ha (12%) was in inundated habitats. In addition, Russian-olive in 2010 covered 125 ha within the BMWUI and of that, 25 ha (20%) was in inundated habitats. Russian-olive showed a close association with the silt loam and silty clay soil type, which occurs along the Missouri River floodplain. Our findings revealed that the species is well established in riparian habitats and other open habitats such as roadside and agricultural lands. There is a greater likelihood of lateral spread of Russian-olive throughout the BMWUI that may require active management to avert undesirable conservation impacts.

Russian knapweed and perennial pepperweed are invasive to meadow and riparian habitats in the semiarid intermountain west. Seed germination was tested to determine favored seedbed characteristics. Germination was inhibited in both species when water stress was imposed using polyethylene glycol. Knapweed achieved 60% germination after 40 d in dark and alternating light/dark environments. Pepperweed germination was greatest (30% after 14 d) in light and alternating light/ dark environments. Both species showed that germination declines when exposed to salt stress but continued to germinate under salt stress as high as 16 dSm−1.