Contribution of Environmental Factors Toward Distribution of Ten Most Dangerous Weed Species Globally

Abstract

Weeds can be a global threat to biodiversity and ecosystems. Understanding the contribution of environmental factors toward weed distribution can vastly improve the effectiveness of the methods adopted for the prevention and control of weed expansion on a large scale. Through multiple studies, we are now aware of the top 10 most dangerous weed species (in terms of endangering biodiversity). However, few studies have paid attention to the contribution of environmental factors toward the distribution of these weed species globally. In this study, we used species distribution modelling to project weed distribution based on occurrence records and environmental factors. We then used the jackknife estimation to assess the contribution of environmental factors toward weed distribution globally. Our results showed that climatic factors coupled with the human ecological footprint significantly contributed toward the distribution of these weed species. However, annual mean temperature made the largest contribution toward the distribution, except in the case of Sorghum halepense. Concerning distribution, different weed species respond differently to the annual mean temperature. However, the human ecological footprint can enhance their global distribution. We suggest that climate change and human influence should be analyzed together to realize methods for the prevention and control of the 10 most dangerous weed species globally.

Benefits of Crop Rotation on Climate Resilience and Its Prospects in China

“…Water dynamics [20,21] Increased soil water storage and crop water use efficiency [22][23][24][25] Reduced surface water runoff [26][27][28][29][30][31][32] Soil health [33][34][35][36] Improved physical and chemical properties of soil [37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] Increases soil enzyme activity, activates nutrients, and improves nutrient utilization [45][46][47][48][49][50] Improves the soil's micro-ecology, reduces the pathogenic bacteria population, and increases the beneficial bacteria population [51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59] Biology [60][61][62] Reduces the dominance of each weed and controls weeds by enriching the diversity of weed species [63][64][65][66]…”

“…Shabani et al [63] found 32 species of weeds worldwide that are expected to increase by 2050 in European countries, northern Brazil, eastern United States, and southeastern Australia. Wan et al [64] found eight major weeds in China, and the area of six of them is expected to increase. The growth of weeds often causes many problems.…”

“…The crop rotation system is in a relatively primitive state [65,66]. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, China has continuously explored some more profitable crop rotation modes, such as paddy and dry rotations in the southern rice-growing areas, and rotations of beans, cereals, and wheat in the north; at the same time, China has explored some planting techniques that can be combined with crop rotation, such as intercropping, which can greatly increase food production and increase harvests [61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68]. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, China has gradually strengthened its emphasis on environmental protection, expanded the types of crop rotation, and increased the diversity of crop rotations [69][70][71][72].…”

Scientific review of the impact of climate change on plant pests

“…Finally, some plant species are themselves pests. Weeds are "unwanted plants" in agriculture, horticulture, forestry and unmanaged ecosystems (Juroszek and von Tiedemann, 2013a; Korres et al, 2016;Wan and Wang, 2019). Thus, a weed is a plant prevalent in the wrong place or at the wrong time.…”

Endozoochory by Goats of Two Invasive Weeds with Contrasted Propagule Traits

“…It is cultivated for fodder in most warm regions. S. halepense is invading the American Continent, Africa and Australia, and has been included in the ten most dangerous weed species globally [28]. S. halepense is a rhizomatous perennial C-4 grass with a hybrid origin that grows erected up to 1.5 m high with 10-55 cm long panicles bearing racemes of 1-5 spikelet pairs.…”