Public Health Implications of Invasive Plants: A Scientometric Study

Abstract

Movements of organisms through distinct places can change the dynamics of ecological interactions and make the habitat conducive to the spread of diseases. Faced with a cyclical scenario of invasions and threats in a One Health context, we conducted a scientometric study to understand how disturbances in environments with invaded vegetation affect the incidence of parasites and disease prevalence rates. The search was carried out in Web of Science and Scopus databases, with keywords delimited by Boolean operators and based on the PRISMA protocol. Thirty-sixarticles were full-read to clarify the interaction between diseases and invaded areas. The analysis covered publications from 2005 to 2022, with a considerable increase in the last ten years and a significant participation of the USA on the world stage. Trends were found in scientific activities, and we explored how invasive species can indirectly damage health, as higher concentrations of pathogens, vectors, and hosts were related to structurally altered communities. This paper reveals invaded plants threats that enhance disease transmission risks. It is likely that, with frequent growth in the number of introduced species worldwide due to environmental disturbances and human interventions, the negative implications will be intensified in the coming years.

Salt and Water Stress Tolerance in Ipomoea purpurea and Ipomoea tricolor, Two Ornamentals with Invasive Potential

“…Invasive alien species compete with native species, alter food webs, nitrogen [3] and hydrological [4] cycles, and thus, disrupt the functioning of ecosystems and the services they provide [5]. In addition to these ecological effects, invasive species can have a negative economic impact [6] or affect human health [7,8]. The risks posed by invasive alien species are well understood [9,10], as reflected in a growing number of papers and metadata analyses [11][12][13][14][15][16].…”