Socioeconomic and ecological consequences of Parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus L.) in Boset Woreda, Ethiopia

Abstract

Parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus L.), an invasive alien species, has been spreading at alarming rate in Ethiopia, causing biodiversity degradation, yield losses in field and horticultural crops, health problems to human beings and livestock. A study on the socioeconomic and ecological impacts of P. hysterophorus was conducted in five Kebeles (lowest administrative division) of Boset Woreda (District), Ethiopia. Data was collected using Ecological Survey, Semi Structured Interviews, Focus Group Discussion, and Field Observations. 200 quadrats were employed where every plant species found in each quadrat were counted, recorded and identified. Data on informant's perception about the first appearance, infestation levels, agents of dispersal, impact, and cultural management of the Parthenium weed were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Shannon Diversity Index (H′), Species Richness, Evenness, and Jaccard's Similarity Index were executed to evaluate Parthenium's effect on species diversity of the weed flora. 78 Herbaceous plants belonging to 59 genera and 21 families were collected. Poaceae (28.2%) and Asteraceae (16.7%) were the dominant families of weeds observed in the study Kebeles. Digalu and Merko Kebeles had high infestation of P. hysterophorus represented by high distribution, abundance, and dominance of the weed, but with corresponding low Richness, H′, and evenness of herbaceous plants. Species Richness of herbaceous flora and abundance of Parthenium weed reveled significant negative association (P < 0.01; R 2 = 0.93). Most of the informants believed that Parthenium affected crop and livestock production as well as human health. Farmers employed hand weeding, plowing, and manual clearing to manage the weed. For effective use of the weed, Integrated Weed Management approaches are required to check the spread and reduce the adverse impacts.

Abundance and impact of Parthenium hysterophorus L., an alien invasive herb on plant species diversity in invaded areas of Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

“…Over 73.7% reduction in species richness in invaded areas as shown in Figure 4B, was accounted to P. hysterophorus. The same trend was reported by Gadisa et al (2019), further confirming the detrimental effect of the weed especially in protected areas like QENP. Similarly, a decline (90%) in forage production was attributed to inhibitory potentials of P. hysterophorus on plant germination (Birhanu and Khan, 2018).…”

“…Therefore, C. dactylon is a potential candidate for suppressing P. hysterophorus and is recommended for vegetation restoration in P. hysterophorus invaded sites. In other studies, C. dactylon was also found in P. hysterophorus invaded sites (Kumari et al, 2014) in India and Woreda in Ethiopia (Gadisa et al, 2019).…”

“…Conversely, members of other plant families (48.8%) dominated the uninvaded sites followed by Poaceae (46.6%), whereas those of Asteraceae (4.2%) were the least abundant. In other studies, Poaceae (14.28%) and Asteraceae (9.52%) were among top three rich families in P. hysterophorus invaded sites (Gebrehiwot and Berhanu, 2015;Gadisa et al, 2019). Annual herbs of Asteraceae family have a high fecundity (Chauhan et al, 2019), that could have enabled them to compete favourably with members of other families for growth requirements.…”

Biocontrol measures to manage Parthenium hysterophorus: Current paradigms, scope and relevance

“…Parthenin, a sesquiterpene lactone found in P. hysterophorus, is harmful to livestock and poses a serious health risk to people (Jaiswal et al, 2022). The toxic side effects in humans are dermatitis and skin rashes, emaciation, tissue rupturing, haemorrhages within the internal organs and death (Duguma et al, 2019). There have been reports of contaminated meat and subpar milk from animals who consumed Parthenium, which is hazardous to livestock if eaten sufficiently (Gadisa et al, 2019).…”

Exploring of the Potential of Parthenium Weed Ash as Substitute for Commercial Alkali for Preparation of Laundry Soap: As a Means to Control Invasion of Parthenium

“…This could be attributed to the presence of chemicals such as parthenin (1), hymenin (2), and ambrosin (3) (Figure 2) (Tefera, 2002;Devi et al, 2014). There are also reports from Ethiopia that revealed the threat of the weed in the reduction of the productivity of crops in different parts of the country (Mohammed, 2010;Taye et al, 2010;Gadisa et al, 2019).…”