DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2016.v04i12.013

Pages: 1132-1135

The floral and faunal populations of an ecosystem must be balanced in order to preserve its ecological equilibrium. Non-native plant species that spread and disrupt a new habitat by endangering the native biodiversity and causing financial loss are invasive alien plant species. Invasive plant species provide an increasing threat to the Western Ghats, which are acknowledged as one of the most important hotspots for biodiversity in the world. The ecological effects of plant invasions in this sensitive landscape are innumerable with a myriad of impacts like the disruption of ecological interactions, such as pollination networks and seed dispersal systems that maintain forest regeneration; the displacement of endemic flora through competitive exclusion, which primarily affects rare species and medicinal plants and the alteration of soil microbiomes and nutrient cycling processes that maintain the distinctive forest mosaics found in the Ghats. In addition, these invasives inflict heavy economic toll across the Ghats region. Thus, the paper argues that the "silent takeover" by invasive plants represents a stealthy but significant threat in economic side too that demands urgent integration into conservation planning for the Western Ghats World Heritage Site. Without strategic intervention, the Western Ghats risks gradual homogenization of its legendary biodiversity and livelihood with cascading consequences for ecological services.