[ERA Webinar] Invasive Species Part I : Troublesome guests? Or misunderstood members of Ecosystems?

What are invasive species? Why do some species become invasive in the context of changing bioclimatic conditions? What is the appropriate scale of space-time for defining invasion? Does our language around invasion need reconsideration? Importantly, what role do invasives play in restoration? Can they be beneficial under certain circumstances? How do we best deal with species invasion in a given ecosystem?

00:00:00 – Introduction to ERA
00:01:17 – Overview of the discussion
00:05:29 – Megha Ojha presents a trait based approach to understand invasive plant species
00:08:09 – What is “invasive” as defined by an invasion biologist?
00:09:38 – Why everything that is alien/non-native is not necessarily invasive.
00:11:44 – What makes a species invasive?
00:17:05 – Questions for Megha
00:20:22 – Introducing Dr. Geetha Ramaswami
00:22:44 – Invasive species in different habitats
00:24:54 – The impacts invasive species
00:28:20 – Alteration of ecosystem processes by invasive plants
00:29:08 – Case study of Lantana camara
00:34:55 – An ecological framework to optimize invasive alien plant management
00:39:01 – Introducing Dr. Rohan Shetti
00:44:05 – Differentiating 'Pioneering' from 'Invasion'
00:48:08 – Dr. Shetti shares a restoration story (Norway Spruce)
00:59:13 – Drawing parallels between Norway Spruce and Eucalyptus in India
01:01:08 – Case study: Castor
01:02:42 – Problems with chemical treatments: The case of Indigofera hirsuta (invasive in the US)
01:04:46 – The restoration dilemma: How do we decide the best strategy?
01:07:11 – It’s better to treat the cause, than the effect
01:08:29 – Introducing Suprabha Seshan
01:09:38 – Suprabha talks about the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary
01:12:50 – Industrial civilization, monocultures and mining
01:16:17 – Are plants deemed “invasive” actually responding to the catastrophe of pollution and destruction of the natural world?
01:18:19 – Is Lantana destroying biodiversity compared to habitat toxification and fragmentation? Or is it increasing it?
01:20:36 – Approaching the question of restoration
01:23:40 – Vegetation types at Gurukula Botanical Sancturay
01:25:36 – 20 million acres of lantana vs 300 million acres of monoculture agriculture.
01:27:56 – Restoring the climate of discussion
01:31:40 – Questions and Answers