Controlling invasive alien shrub species, enhancing biodiversity and mitigating flood risk: A win-win-win situation in grazed floodplain plantations

Trophic rewilding as a restoration approach under emerging novel biosphere conditions

Rewilding is a restoration approach that aims to promote self-regulating complex ecosystems by restoring non-human ecological processes while reducing human control and pressures. Rewilding is forward-looking in that it aims to enhance functionality for biodiversity, accepting and indeed promoting the dynamic nature of ecosystems, rather than fixating on static composition or structure. Rewilding is thus especially relevant in our epoch of increasingly novel biosphere conditions, driven by strong human-induced global change. Here, we explore this hypothesis in the context of trophic rewilding - the restoration of trophic complexity mediated by wild, large-bodied animals, known as 'megafauna'. This focus reflects the strong ecological impacts of large-bodied animals, their widespread loss during the last 50,000 years and their high diversity and ubiquity in the preceding 50 million years. Restoring abundant, diverse, wild-living megafauna is expected to promote vegetation heterogeneity, seed dispersal, nutrient cycling and biotic microhabitats. These are fundamental drivers of biodiversity and ecosystem function and are likely to gain importance for maintaining a biodiverse biosphere under increasingly novel ecological conditions. Non-native megafauna species may contribute to these effects as ecological surrogates of extinct species or by promoting ecological functionality within novel assemblages. Trophic rewilding has strong upscaling potential via population growth and expansion of wild fauna. It is likely to facilitate biotic adaptation to changing climatic conditions and resilience to ecosystem collapse, and to curb some negative impacts of globalization, notably the dominance of invasive alien plants. Finally, we discuss the complexities of realizing the biodiversity benefits that trophic rewilding offers under novel biosphere conditions in a heavily populated world.

Assessment and potential of ecosystem services of ornamental dendroflora in public green areas

The green infrastructure of the city of Novi Sad is characterized by a significant presence of ornamental invasive alien species, which might lead to their uncontrolled spread and suppression of autochthonous dendroflora. This study aimed to determine the ecosystem services and disservices of ornamental dendroflora in Novi Sad, as well as how they can affect urban green areas. Of the total ornamental dendroflora in Novi Sad, 88.33% of species with a good adaptation were determined, while 10% had a medium and 1.67% had a very good adaptation. Thirty-four allochthonous species showed very high (38.24%), moderate (47.06%), and low (14.71%) invasive potential according to the conducted invasiveness risk assessment. These species are also characterized by high (2.94%), moderate (67.65%), and low (29.41%) allergenic potential. On the contrary, 26 ornamental autochthonous species are characterized by moderate (38.46%) and low (61.54%) rates of spread on public green areas, while also characterized by high (26.92%), moderate (50%), and weak (23.08%) allergenic potential. Ornamental dendroflora provides many more positive ecosystem services, such as urban afforestation, climate regulation, decorative-aesthetic value, air and water purification, ecotourism and recreation, and other services that are of great benefit to the residents of that city. The highest calculated values of ecosystem services in allochthonous and autochthonous species were 27 and 26.5 (out of possible maximal value 40), while ecosystem disservices accounted down to the value of - 13.5 (out of possible minimal value - 22). Therefore, intrinsic disservices such as the production of large amounts of green waste of ornamental dendroflora can be shifted into a novel ecosystem service-green solutions based on nature, to avoid unsuitable deposition of seeds in the soil and creation of suitable vegetation on public green areas.

A review on invasive false indigo bush (Amorpha fruticosa L.): Nuisance plant with multiple benefits

Increased mobility of people around the globe has facilitated transferring species to new environments, where some have found suitable conditions and even become invasive. False indigo-bush (Amorpha fruticosa L.) is a plant native to North America but has intentionally or unintentionally spread over the Northern Hemisphere, where it often becomes invasive. The plant is especially easily dispersed within the watersheds of large rivers, where seasonal flooding is regular. Seeds and other propagules are buoyant, and when the water recedes, new plants emerge, forming dense thickets where only a few other species can co-exist. In order to sustain native biodiversity, spread control is needed. However, mechanical control and eradication measures currently in use are labor demanding and costly, while application of herbicides is limited. On the other hand, the plant possesses a number of beneficial properties, such as phytochemical applications (medical and insecticidal effects), biocoenotic uses (honey plant, ornamental features), and ecosystem services (soil stabilization, provision of food for animals, and fiber and biomass for industry, e.g., nanocellulose). For the reasons above mentioned, the plant is considered quite controversial, and the paper discusses both aspects: potential detrimental effects when introduced to new habitats and its beneficial uses for human society. In addition, the paper presents alternative measures of spreading control (e.g., grazing) and argues that exploiting it for beneficial purposes might help spread control, thus covering the expenses of controlling its distribution.