Invasive Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation

What an extraordinary winter! Looking in any direction here in our coastal refuge, emerald slopes capture the eye and lift the spirit. Even in urban backyards, 这个“水年”(2022年10月至2023年9月)的降雨量远高于平均水平，以意想不到的网信彩票推动了生命的发展，超出了我们通常的春天. Here in California, and especially on the south coast, our Mediterranean climate (warm, dry summers and cool, 潮湿的冬季)驱动了一系列特殊的物种多样性和生态过程. 我们惊叹于山坡上枯季休眠的黄褐色植被在冬雨过后变成了一个充满活力的色彩仙境, texture, and fragrance.

Globally, 地中海气候的地区只占世界陆地面积的2%，但却占地球植物多样性的近20%. 我们的本土物种已经进化了几千年，发展出专门的适应能力，以忍受一年通常有八个月没有降水的情况, and sometimes only a fraction of average rainfall for several consecutive years. 在夏季和特别干燥的时期落叶以保存资源, called drought deciduousness, is a common strategy employed by many of our coastal sage scrub shrub species, as is taking advantage of variable conditions like slope aspect, soil composition, and soil depth. This beautiful cadence of seasonal growth, species diversity, 由于间歇性火灾等自然干扰，群落组成变得更加动态，从而引发了物种复杂性和相互作用的连续浪潮.

Native species aren’t the only organisms benefiting from this abundant rainfall. Significant disturbances like livestock grazing, high frequency fires, agriculture, and urban development have created unique conditions for introducing, distributing, 并鼓励引进植物占据主导地位，这些植物通常来自地中海气候的世界其他地区，高度适应我们独特的资源条件，但没有自然的种群限制. Several species of non-native mustards, thistles, and annual grasses are some of our most prolific invasive species, often able to grow faster, earlier, 比本地物种密度高，因此排除了本地种群(图1). When this happens, it isn’t just native plants that are affected. As the foundation for the ecological system, plants provide the scaffold for all the other interacting webs of life. When their populations are impacted, native wildlife are affected too. Successful life cycles of invertebrates, the basis of the food chain and pivotal conductors in ecology’s orchestra, are often very closely associated with specific native plant species, and invasive dominated areas provide poor habitat to sustain their populations. Relatedly, reptiles, amphibians, birds, 哺乳动物也受到入侵主导景观的连锁反应的负面影响. Although invasive ecology isn’t generally a kitchen table issue, it should be. Fire frequency and intensity is magnified in invasive dominated landscapes, 当浅根入侵植物无法在陡坡或河流洪水的堤岸上保持土壤时，强降水的影响就会被放大, 虽然非本地蜜蜂在我们的食物系统中被用作管理的商业授粉资源, native pollinators including bees, butterflies, flies, bats, and birds provide crucial pollination services for crops worldwide, with an estimated $3 billion of US agriculture reliant on native bees alone. Without intact native plant communities to support these vital pollinators, our very food system is at risk.

因此，当我们都对这个丰饶的冬天在我们的荒野上发生的非凡过程感到敬畏时, let’s take special notice of the amazing diversity, beauty, and ecological services native plants provide, 并通过建立我们对入侵物种的认识和积极参与来支持他们. 在你的灌木丛的颈部正确识别入侵植物是可以管理的, 每一次努力都有助于遏制其影响的浪潮(查看加州入侵植物委员会的优秀在线资源). 并支持当地的土地信托基金，这些信托基金正在努力有效地管理荒地保护区, 管理我们多样化和复杂的本地系统的未来，使其在丰富的时代蓬勃发展，并在稀缺的时代持续下去. 我们可以共同努力，确保我们后院非凡的荒地拥有一个多样化和富有成效的未来.