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Invasion pattern of Eupatorium adenophorum Spreng in southern China

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Abstract

This study provides a detailed analysis of the invasion by Eupatorium adenophorum Spreng (Crofton weed) from Burma and Vietnam into Southern China since the 1940s. Currently, E. adenophorum’s main colonisation area is located in the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau of China, where it has caused prominent economic and ecological problems. Sixty-three years ago, Crofton weed appeared in Menghai county, Yunnan Province, from where it dispersed northwards and eastwards at an average speed of 20 km year−1. The invasion of E. adenophorum nonetheless showed pronounced variations in both time and space. Spread was relatively slow in the initial invasion period between 1940 and 1950, while the most rapid range expansions occurred in the 1980s. Environmental conditions at native and invaded sites were significantly different, reflecting a great adaptability of the species during colonization. These changes were greater than habitat differences between colonized and many adjacent un-colonized sites in Southern China. Therefore, immediate measures are required to stop a further northward and eastward expansion of Crofton weed.

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Acknowledgments

Mark Williamson, Richard Law and Jon Pitchford at the University of York, UK, and Julie S. Denslow at the Invasive Species Unit, Institute of Pacific Island Forestry, USDA Forest Service, as well as Zhenyu Li at the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, all provided valuable suggestions and comments on this paper. The work was financially supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program 2009CB119200), the ‘‘111 program’’ from Bureau of Foreign Expert of China and Ministry of Education (contract no. 2008-B08044), and a KC Wong Fellowship by the Royal Society, UK. We are also most grateful to anonymous reviewer for constructive comments to the early versions of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environment Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanxincun No. 20, Xiangshan, Beijing, 100093, China

    Weiguo Sang & Li Zhu

  2. UCL Department of Geography, University College London, Pearson Building, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    Jan C. Axmacher

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  1. Weiguo Sang
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  2. Li Zhu
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  3. Jan C. Axmacher
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Correspondence to Weiguo Sang.

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Sang, W., Zhu, L. & Axmacher, J.C. Invasion pattern of Eupatorium adenophorum Spreng in southern China. Biol Invasions 12, 1721–1730 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-009-9584-3

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