Biological Invasions (2013) 15, 1287-1302

Ramesh Kannan, Charlie M. Shackleton and R. Uma Shaanker (2013)
Reconstructing the history of introduction and spread of the invasive species, Lantana, at three spatial scales in India
Biological Invasions 15 (6), 1287-1302
Abstract: This study sought to reconstruct the history of Lantana invasion and spread in India by considering two questions; (a) from where, by who, and when were Lantana species introduced into India? and (b) given its long history in the country, is it still spreading or more or less stable? We critically evaluated the archival and historical information on plant imports by the European powers into India during the period before and after British colonization. We then reconstructed the path of spread by analyzing the spatio-temporal patterns of occurrence and distribution of Lantana in India at both the national and local scale using a GIS platform. The spread of Lantana across the globe started as early as the 1690s. The European colonial powers moved the plants from Latin America to Europe and to their colonial countries in the early 1800s. Lantana species were introduced in India from 1807 onwards and thereafter the colonial powers moved this plant across the country. Following its introduction into India, the spread of Lantana across the country, either through subsequent multiple introductions from Europe to different British cantonments, or through moving the plants between cantonments within India, were reasonably rapid spanning only a few decades. In the absence of a rigorous control program, the spread of Lantana has gone on unabated and thereby impacting both wildlife and biodiversity.
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Link to article at publishers website

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
new introduction of pest

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Lantana camara (weed)		India