WELLINGTON, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Invasive plants are making landscapes look increasingly alike across regions and countries, which not only threatens natural ecosystems, but also erodes people's cultural identity and sense of place.
Seemingly harmless non-native plants are often imported for people's gardens, and things like imported pollinators and climate change make it possible for the garden plants to quickly turn into invasive species, said Professor Len Gillman of the Auckland University of Technology.
"Around the globe, natural habitats are being overrun by plant species originating from different regions," according to Gillman's study published Friday in the journal Global Change Biology.
The study points out that the growing prevalence of exotic plants in gardens can have severe repercussions for native ecosystems. Due to the widespread planting of foreign species, plant landscapes are becoming increasingly indistinguishable among regions and countries.
Seemingly harmless non-native garden plants are a source for future invasive species, said the New Zealand ecologist.
"The time it takes for a plant species to transition from non-invasive to invasive status can vary greatly, from several centuries to virtually overnight if, for example, a critical pollinator arrives," he said.
Climate change further exacerbates the unpredictability of future threats posed by specific plant species, said Gillman.
Potential policies recommended include import bans on exotic species, stipulations for native-only planting in new developments, automatic bans on the sale and propagation of exotic species known to reproduce in the wild, and initiatives to gradually replace exotic plants on public land with native ones. ■
