Spread of the Exotic Fern Lygodium microphyllum in Florida

Nauman, Clifton E.; Austin, Daniel F.

doi:10.2307/1546450

Cited by 26 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The dispersal pattern of L. microphyllum appears similar to the pattern of establishment and distribution of island species (Holbrook and Schmitt 2003). Others have noted that the spatial distribution of L. microphyllum appears to be clustered in both regional and local scales (Nauman 1993;Wunderlin 1998). Dispersal patterns appear to correspond to the prevailing wind directions (Chen and Gerber) that occur in spring to summer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

The spatial pattern and dispersion of Lygodium microphyllum in the Everglades wetland ecosystem

Rutchey

Wang

et al. 2006

Biol Invasions

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Since 1958, L. microphyllum (Old World Climbing Fern), which originated from the Old World Tropics, has become a nuisance exotic and has rapidly spread and is being established system-wide in extremely remote and undisturbed areas such as the Florida Everglades. Of particular concern is that L. microphyllum is disrupting, at an alarming rate, the flora and fauna of the native ecosystem at the same time that a major 8.4 billion dollar Everglades restoration program is trying to enhance these same attributes. This research utilized IKONOS satellite data to map L. microphyllum within the 58,000-ha Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge wetland in south Florida. Results show that approximately 11.6% of the tree/shrub vegetation within the impoundment has been infected by L. microphyllum. These data were then utilized to explore the spatial spread patterns of L. microphyllum within the Refuge. Results suggest that L. microphyllum is more likely to establish on the southeast side of a tree/shrub island and then spread to the northwest, which corresponds to the prevailing wind direction in south Florida. Spatial pattern analysis of L. microphyllum spread indicated that it is correlated with the density and spatial distribution of tree/shrub island vegetation. It appears that the dispersion of L. microphyllum is density dependent, which can be expressed as a logistic function and has a catastrophic threshold of 160 m of mean distance between tree/ shrub islands in the Everglades. It is predicted that 38% (or 1910 ha) of tree/shrub islands in the Refuge will be invaded by L. microphyllum by 2012. Tree islands in the Everglades wetland could be considered similar to oceanic islands throughout the world that are notoriously vulnerable to biological invasions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

The spatial pattern and dispersion of Lygodium microphyllum in the Everglades wetland ecosystem

Rutchey

Wang

et al. 2006

Biol Invasions

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“… Actual and simulated spread of L. microphyllum across southern Florida from 1978 to 2014. Actual infestations are from a survey conducted in 1978 (Nauman and Austin, 1978) and from a series of aerial transects flown by the South Florida Water Management District every two years from 1993 through 1999. Aerial transects ran east to west from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico and were spaced at 4.0 km intervals from central to southern Florida.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To simulate the spread of L. microphyllum , we developed a cellular automaton landscape model that divided South Florida into 40,000 cells of 1 km 2 each. For calibration, the model was initialised with 1978 survey data of visible infestations (Nauman & Austin, 1978), which were assigned a height of 10 m, and stepped through to 1993 in yearly increments. For validation, the model was initialised with 1993 aerial survey data (Pemberton & Ferriter, 1998) and with estimates, derived from model output, of the level of undetectable infections present in 1993.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Predicting rapid invasion of the Florida Everglades by Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium microphyllum)

Volin

Lott

Muss

et al. 2004

Diversity and Distributions

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Lygodium microphyllum (Cav.) R. Br. (Lygodiaceae) is a climbing fern that is becoming one of the worst non‐indigenous invasive plant species in the greater Everglades ecosystem of southern Florida, USA. We examined the fern across a range of scales including the seasonality of its spore production, its height growth within infested sites and its community ecology. These attributes, combined with a series of aerial transects that identified L. microphyllum infestations across southern Florida, were used to develop a spatial model to predict its future spread in the Everglades landscape. The model shows that this non‐indigenous invader could become widely established throughout the Everglades by 2014. Although several factors, such as release from natural enemies, may help explain the invasion success of L. microphyllum, it appears likely that traits related to its reproduction, such as propagule pressure, and its ability to grow in a low‐light understorey environment, may be among the most important in explaining its ability to invade both disturbed and undisturbed areas far from source populations.

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“…Only a decade after its introduction, the fern caught the attention of John Beckner (1968), who noted, "It will be interesting to watch the future spread and behavior of Lygodium microphyllum in Florida." Just another ten years later, the fern was observed by Nauman and Austin (1978) to be smothering native vegetation, both shrubby and herbaceous. In keeping with its ruderal qualities, L. microphyllum is an opportunist, taking advantage of hurricane disturbances for spread and colonization.…”

Section: Invasive Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Fire on Spore Viability of Lygodium microphyllum (Old World Climbing Fern)

Sebesta¹

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Spread of the Exotic Fern Lygodium microphyllum in Florida

Cited by 26 publications

References 2 publications

The spatial pattern and dispersion of Lygodium microphyllum in the Everglades wetland ecosystem

The spatial pattern and dispersion of Lygodium microphyllum in the Everglades wetland ecosystem

Predicting rapid invasion of the Florida Everglades by Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium microphyllum)

The Effects of Fire on Spore Viability of Lygodium microphyllum (Old World Climbing Fern)

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