Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) as an invader and threat to biodiversity in arid environments: A review

Abstract

a b s t r a c tPopular pastoral species, Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) is receiving long overdue attention as an invasive weed that poses serious threats to biodiversity conservation worldwide. Most research focuses on the species as forage plant and is largely published in agricultural and grey literature. Meanwhile, there is a dearth of information about the species ecology in natural landscapes despite strong evidence from field workers and managers that the species is an aggressive invader and threat to biodiversity in many environments. We present a comprehensive review of the ecology, distribution and biodiversity impacts of Buffel grass when behaving as an invasive species. Foundations are laid for research into localised habitat requirements of the species that will aid in the management of Buffel grass invasions now and into the future.

Why non-native grasses pose a critical emerging threat to biodiversity conservation, habitat connectivity and agricultural production in multifunctional rural landscapes

“…The photosynthetic pathways of E. curvula, N. neesiana and N. trichotoma (Table 1) often differ significantly from the dominant grasses that they displace (e.g., Hattersley 1983), and so these species are also likely to alter soil water regimes in infested areas. Both C. ciliaris and U. mutica are major riparian weeds (Bunn et al 1998;Marshall et al 2012), with U. mutica drastically altering river sediment accumulation, streambed morphology and water discharge in infested catchments (Bunn et al 1998). These changes have very significant indirect effects on associated riparian vegetation.…”

The polyploid nature of Cenchrus ciliaris L. (Poaceae) has been overlooked: new insights for the conservation and invasion biology of this species – a review

“…This C 4 perennial is the predominant grass in many arid lands (Marshall et al 2012). Despite its wide distribution, the expansion of overgrazing associated with the severity of climatic factors in arid ecosystems has led to a continuous thinning of stands and the threat of extinction of this species throughout its natural area of occurrence (Chaieb et al 1996;Whitford 2002).…”

“…Considering the ecological interest offered by C. ciliaris: drought tolerance (Bhatt et al 2007; De La Barrera and Castellanos 2007;Kharrat-Souissi et al 2012a), high fodder production and nutritive value to livestock (Kharrat-Souissi et al 2010;Arshadullah et al 2011), rapid regeneration in response to rainfall (Bose and Balakarishnan 2001), tolerance of heavy grazing (M'seddi et al 2004a) and soil stabilisation abilities because of a deep root system (Chaieb et al 1996;Mnif and Chaieb 2009), the persistence of this species in its native range in arid ecosystems is a crucial factor for restoration ecology of degraded arid rangelands. For these reasons, C. ciliaris has been the subject of numerous applied studies, which have focussed on its phenotypic polymorphism, its ecological significance (M'seddi et al 2002;Arshad et al 2007;Jorge et al 2008;Visser et al 2008;Kharrat-Souissi et al 2010;Arshadullah et al 2011), resistance to drought (Mansoor et al 2002;Mnif and Chaieb 2010;Kharrat-Souissi et al 2012a), biological invasion capacity (Friedel et al 1996;Franklin et al 2006;GutierrezOzuna et al 2009;Marshall et al 2012) and its genotypic diversity (Nisar et al 2010;Al-Soqeer 2011;Kharrat-Souissi et al 2011).…”

Phosphorus fertilization and growth of buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliares L.) cultivars

“…Because of its high drought tolerance and ability to withstand heavy grazing, the buffel grass is widely cultivated as pasture in arid and semiarid tropical and subtropical regions around the world (Eyre et al, 2009;Friedel et al, 2011;Marshall et al, 2012).…”

“…According to Mnif & Chaieb (2009) the buffel grass root system can reach up to 4.0 m deep and shoot up to 1.5 m high, which favours tolerance to water stress. However, according to Marshall et al (2012), P deficiency in soils is one of the strongest barriers to their development and prevents its expansion both in semiarid and arid environments.…”