GUWAHATI: Invasive plant species from South America have threatened to destroy a large portion of wildlife habitats in Manas National Park.
A study titled “In search of aliens: Factors influencing the distribution of Chromolaena odorata and Mikania micrantha in the Terai grasslands of Manas National Park”, has found that if both the invasive species — Chromolaena odorata and Mikania micrantha — continue to grow at the present rate, the entire grassland area of the park will be covered with such foreign plant species. Around 15 to 20 per cent of the total Manas area and more than 30 percent of grassland area are already under the threat of the invasion.
An invasive species is one that is not native to a particular area, but arrives (usually with human help), establishes a population and spreads.
“Invasive plants are one of the biggest threats to biodiversity of Manas as well as other national parks in the State. After poaching, invasive plants are now considered the second biggest threat to wildlife population in Assam. But the government is seen taking a casual approach to deal with such threat,” Bibhuti P. Lahkar, a grassland management specialist with Aaranyak, told The Sentinel.
Lahkar who is part of the team which conducted the study, said going by the present probable areas in which these two invasive species are likely to invade, there are high chances that the majority of the significant wildlife habitats will be affected and altered in the near future leading to habitat shrinkage of Asiatic wild buffalo, introduced one-horned rhino, swamp deer and hog deer in Manas National Park.
Chromolaena odorata is a perennial herbaceous shrub native to Mexico, the West Indies and tropical South America. In 1845, it was first introduced to Calcutta’s Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden as an ornamental plant, and Jamaica was considered as the likely geographic source to India.
Mikania micrantha, being a perennial herbaceous weed vine native to tropical Central and South America, was introduced during World War II to camouflage airfields of the British allied army.
Lahkar said invasion risk maps can be used as an early detection tool for the management of such invasive species, which can help in maintaining the ecological significance and minimizing the economic cost of invasions by such species.
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