Management of Lantana, an invasive alien weed, in forest ecosystems of India

Abstract

Lantana is one of the world's worst weeds of South American origin that threatens native biodiversity of forest ecosystems across India. It was introduced into India as a garden ornamental and or a biohedge plant in the early part of the 19th century and now it has virtually invaded all the tropical and subtropical regions of India. Although attempts have been made to control Lantana by physical, chemical and biological methods, there is no success either in its control or the prevention of its spread. No effective management strategy is yet available for the containment of this obnoxious alien weed. On the basis of critical assessment of the biological and ecological attributes of Lantana that enabled it to overcome all the existing management practices, we have developed a new management strategy. The new strategy involves (i) its removal by cut rootstock method, (ii) weeding of saplings from beneath the trees used for perching by generalist birds that disperse the seeds throughout their home range and from surface drainage channels originating from the area covered by such trees and (iii) ecological restoration of weed-free landscapes, preferably to the grassland, or forest communities according to the needs of stakeholders to prevent reinvasion of the same species or secondary invasion by another alien species. The new strategy developed has been implemented successfully in demonstration plots of 2-5 hectares at the Corbett Tiger Reserve (Uttarakhand), Kalesar National Park (Haryana) and Satpura Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh). The advantages of the new management strategy over other control methods currently used are: (i) cost effectiveness, (ii) simple and easy to adopt and (iii) ensures successful control of Lantana without using chemicals and exotic biological control agents, and with minimum disturbance of soil.