Invasive Species and Their Impact on Tropical Forests of Central India: A Review

Tropical forests are the richest biodiversity hotspots and are under immense natural and anthropogenic pressures that lead to biodiversity loss. One such cause is alien plant invasion that alters the native forest stand structure and composition and disrupts the vital ecosystem functions. Central India, which mainly spans across the three states, viz. Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and some parts of Maharashtra, is well-known for its sprawling tropical deciduous forests, which are also no less immune to the present-day pressures, including the plant invasion. Alien invasive plants arrive via several pathways and possess unique traits that help them to surpass the barriers in the new habitats, where many influential factors might operate upon them. Once established, they may profoundly impact the invaded ecosystem. Most of the studies from Central India have been focused on floristics, forest structure, impact of disturbances, etc., and relatively few studies have addressed plant invasion. Overall, there are 179 invasive taxa in Central India, mostly from the Asteraceae (17.3%) and Fabaceae (14.5%) families. Majority of them are from Tropical America (52%), and most are herbs (69%). An outline of the most common top ten Central Indian invaders has been presented. Climate change might influence invasive plants, and constant monitoring and modelling is required to understand invasive species dynamics for effective management. Invasive alien species are to be tended with extreme caution and smart and novel approaches of putting them to use might help in better management for controlling them. This review will also provide a conceptual basis for improving our general understanding on invasive species and their impact on tropical forest ecosystems.