Socio‐ecological evidence highlights that native Prosopis species are better for arid land restoration than non‐native ones

Abstract

The selection of species for restoration projects requires decision-making to be based on scientific evidence as well as input and approval from local communities. To better guide future restoration initiatives, this study assessed the socio-ecological effects of two Prosopis congeners including the native Prosopis cineraria and the non-native P. juliflora (mesquite) in two different sites in Southern Iran. Soil parameters including pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, and total nitrogen as well as vegetation indices including native vegetation cover, diversity, and density were measured under both of the congener tree species. Furthermore, pastoralists' perceptions toward the colonizing ability of both Prosopis congeners, their impacts on ecosystem services, and people's livelihoods and human well-being were assessed through interviews and semi-structured questionnaires. The ecological results showed that areas with native P. cineraria had higher native vegetation cover, density, and diversity as compared to sites with the non-native P. juliflora. Soils under P. cineraria and P. juliflora generally showed similar properties, with some small differences between sites (especially for pH and nitrogen). The social results showed that pastoralists in both study regions perceived P. cineraria to be better for local ecosystem services and livelihoods and viewed it to have lower colonizing or invasion potential. It can be concluded that native P. cineraria is a better candidate for restoration because it provides more ecological and social benefits and poses fewer long-term threats. Caution should be taken when promoting non-native species such as P. juliflora for restoration.

Impact of Prosopis velutina Wooton on the Composition and Diversity of Native Woody Species in a Semi-Arid Zone along the Molopo River, South Africa

“…The outcomes of the current study revealed the detrimental impacts of P. velutina on woody species composition and diversity at the Tshidilamolomo and Mabule sites. Several studies have found that the invasion of Prosopis species has reduced native plant richness and density [ 32 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ]. This suggests that the vigorous and rapid growth of this invasive species, which has reached a large proportional representation, is accountable for the strong impact on native woody plant species along the Molopo River.…”

Invasion of Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC as perceived by farmers in the Moxotó Irrigated Perimeter, Pernambuco – Brazil

“…Structured questionnaires were used to collect data through interviews with key informants and a household survey (Shiferaw et al, 2022) between June and July 2020 to assess the perceptions of thirty family farmers (Santos et al, 2020;Sharifian et al, 2022) aged between 18 and 65. The semi-structured forms were applied face-to-face, purposive, targeted, and non-probabilistic.…”

Restoration ecology of arid lands (RE‐AL) thematic series

“…Future restoration initiatives require scientific evidence as well as input and approval from local communities. This was presented in the fifth article entitled “Socio‐ecological evidence highlights that native Prosopis species are better for arid land restoration than non‐native ones” (Sharifian et al 2022). The results of the study showed that areas with native P. cineraria had higher native vegetation cover, density, and diversity as compared to sites with the non‐native P. juliflora .…”