1School of Environmental Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin-22, Kerala, 682022, India
2C V Raman Laboratory of Ecological Informatics, Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management- Kerala, 695581, India
Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences.
2020,
Vol. 8 No. 5, 199-206
DOI: 10.12691/aees-8-5-3
Copyright © 2020 Science and Education PublishingCite this paper: N P Sooraj, R Jaishanker, C R Sajeev, V Saroj Kumar, D Lijimol, J Ammini. Influence of Forest Canopy Gaps on Establishment of
Mikania Micrantha Kunth, an Invasive Plant, in a Tropical Forest in Southern Western Ghats, India.
Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences. 2020; 8(5):199-206. doi: 10.12691/aees-8-5-3.
Correspondence to: R Jaishanker, C V Raman Laboratory of Ecological Informatics, Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management- Kerala, 695581, India. Email:
jrnair@iiitmk.ac.inAbstract
Tropical forests are more resistant to plant invasion. However, reports of the occurrence of invasive alien plants within tropical forests have surged in recent years. The invasibility of the tropical forest ecosystem is enhanced with the disturbance mediated environmental fluctuations. The upwelling of natural light on the forest floor and associated resource fluctuation due to canopy gaps facilitate the establishment of light tolerant, invasive plants. Here the authors report the effect of the canopy gap on the establishment of M micrantha in a protected forest in Kerala, India. A significant direct relationship between the abundance of M micrantha with canopy openness and light intensity reveals how the forest canopy gap in the study area acts as a gateway to plant invasion.
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