Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Foreword
- 1 Testing hypotheses about biological invasions and Charles Darwin’s two-creators rumination
- Part I Ancient invaders
- Part II Modern invaders
- 13 Invasion by woody shrubs and trees
- 14 Modern tree colonisers from Australia into the rest of the world
- 15 Failed introductions: finches from outside Australia
- 16 The skylark
- 17 Why northern hemisphere waders did not colonise the south
- 18 Weak migratory interchange by birds between Australia and Asia
- 19 Introducing a new top predator, the dingo
- 20 The European rabbit
- 21 The rise and fall of the Asian water buffalo in the monsoonal tropics of northern Australia
- 22 A critique of ecological theory and a salute to natural history
- Index
- References
14 - Modern tree colonisers from Australia into the rest of the world
from Part II - Modern invaders
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2014
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Foreword
- 1 Testing hypotheses about biological invasions and Charles Darwin’s two-creators rumination
- Part I Ancient invaders
- Part II Modern invaders
- 13 Invasion by woody shrubs and trees
- 14 Modern tree colonisers from Australia into the rest of the world
- 15 Failed introductions: finches from outside Australia
- 16 The skylark
- 17 Why northern hemisphere waders did not colonise the south
- 18 Weak migratory interchange by birds between Australia and Asia
- 19 Introducing a new top predator, the dingo
- 20 The European rabbit
- 21 The rise and fall of the Asian water buffalo in the monsoonal tropics of northern Australia
- 22 A critique of ecological theory and a salute to natural history
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
Australian tree species, particularly eucalypts and acacias, have made a major contribution to plantation forestry around the world. This chapter briefly reviews the introduction of some of the most important plantation species from the Eucalyptus, Acacia and Casuarina genera, into countries outside Australia. It also considers the introduction of Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) S.T. Blake, which is not a major plantation species, but is a serious invasive species, as a special case.
The chapter focuses particularly on identifying the characteristics that have made some Australian species relatively ineffective as invasives, while others have become noxious weeds. The chapter also considers the 11 hypotheses being examined in this book in the light of experiences with the introduction of Australian trees around the world. The process of planned species introduction is in some respects similar to that of biological invasion, and indeed in some cases the latter can follow hard upon the former, so there are some useful ecological lessons relevant to invasion biology to be learnt from the introduction of Australian trees.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Invasion Biology and Ecological TheoryInsights from a Continent in Transformation, pp. 304 - 323Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2014
References
(2010). Freeze tolerant eucalyptus. Available at (accessed 22 April 2012).
(1955). Self compatibility and establishment of long-distance dispersal. Evolution 9: 337–349.Google Scholar
(1985). A new method to assist species selection. Commonwealth Forestry Review 64: 241–250.Google Scholar
, ed. (1996). Matching trees and sites. ACIAR Proceedings No. 63. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra.
, , and (1988). Niche analysis and tree species introduction. Forest Ecology and Management 23: 47–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2005). Forestry Compendium CDROM. Wallingford, UK: CABI.
(2006). California Invasive Plant Inventory. Cal-IPC Publication 2006–2. Berkeley, CA: California Invasive Plant Council.
, , and (2011). Predicting invasiveness of Australian acacias on the basis of their native climatic affinities, life-history traits and human use. Diversity and Distributions 17: 934–945.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1977). Distance of seed dispersal in eucalypts estimated from seed weights. Australian Forest Research 7: 225–8.Google Scholar
, and (2012). Drought-tolerance of an invasive alien tree, Acacia mearnsii and two native competitors in fynbos riparian ecotones. Biological Invasions 14: 619–631.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , et al. (2011). Can Eucalyptus invade native forest fragments close to commercial stands?Forest Ecology and Management 261: 2075–2080.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, and (2001). Conflicts of interest in environmental management: estimating the costs and benefits of a tree invasion. Biological Invasions 3: 167–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and , eds. (1997). Australian Trees and Shrubs: Species for land rehabilitation and farm planting in the tropics. ACIAR Monograph No. 24. ACIAR, Canberra.
, and (2006). Invasion history of Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) S.T. Blake in Florida. Castanea 71: 210–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and , (2004). Water use by black wattle (Acacia mearnsii) and implications for the link between removal of invading trees and catchment streamflow response. South African Journal of Science 100: 40–44.Google Scholar
, , et al. (2007). Assessing nitrogen fixation in mixed- and single- species plantations of Eucalyptus globulus and Acacia mearnsii. Tree Physiology 27: 1319–1328.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
(2005). Remote detection of invasive Melaleuca trees (Melaleuca quinquenervia) in South Florida with multispectral IKONOS imagery. International Journal of Remote Sensing 26: 1057–1063.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1990). Melaleuca. In and (eds) Silvics of North America: Vol. 2 Hardwoods. Agricultural Handbook 654. Washington DC: US Department of Agric. (USDA), Forest Service.Google Scholar
(1981). Adaptive responses of Australian vascular plant species to fire. In , and (eds) Fire and the Australian Biota. Canberra, Australia: Australian Academy of Science, pp. 243–272.Google Scholar
(2010). Eucalyptus Universalis: Cultivated Eucalypt Forests Global Map.Available at: (accessed 22 April 2012).
, , , and , (2007). Puccinia psidii: a threat to the Australian environment and economy: a review. Australasian Plant Pathology 36: 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1980). Floral phenology of a stand of mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans F. Muell.) in Gippsland, Victoria. Australian Journal of Botany 28: 393–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , and (2011). Global uses of Australian acacias: trends and future prospects. Diversity and Distributions 17: 837–847.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1960). Effective seed supply for the natural regeneration of Eucalyptus delegatensis R.T. Baker, syn. Eucalyptus gigantean Hook. F. Journal of the Australian Pulp and Paper Industry Association 13: 131–47.Google Scholar
and (1995). Inbreeding depression and changes in variation after selfing in Eucalyptus globulus ssp. globulus. Silvae Genetica 44: 46–54.Google Scholar
(2011). Introductions: doing it right. In (ed.) Developing a Eucalypt Resource: Learning from Australia and Elsewhere. Canterbury, New Zealand: Wood Technology Research Centre, University of Canterbury, pp. 43–54.Google Scholar
and (2003). The status of invasiveness of forest tree species outside their natural habitat: a global review and discussion paper. Forest Health and Biosecurity Working Paper FBS/3E. Rome: FAO.
(1991). The current status of Melaleuca quinquenervia in southern Florida. In , , , and (eds) Proceedings of the Symposium on Exotic Pest Plants National Park Service, Denver, pp. 159–176.Google Scholar
(2001) Frost prediction for Australian tree species in China. PhD thesis. Australian National University, Canberra.
(1997). Reproductive biology of eucalypts. In and (eds) Eucalypt Ecology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 30–55.Google Scholar
, , , and (2011). Macroecology meets invasion ecology: linking the native distributions of Australia acacias to invasiveness. Diversity and Distributions 17: 872–883.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1957). Concluding remarks. Cold Spring Harbour Symposium. Quantitative Biology 22: 415–427.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1965). The niche: an abstractly inhabited hypervolume. In The Ecological Theatre and the Evolutionary Play. New Haven CT: Yale University Press, pp. 26–78.Google Scholar
, , and (2008). Dasineura rubiformis (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), a new biological control agent for Acacia mearnsii in South Africa. South African Journal of Science 104: 247–249.Google Scholar
(2010). Global Invasive Species Database. Invasive Species Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission. Available at (accessed 2 April 2012).
, , and , eds. (2000). Diseases and Pathogens of Eucalypts. Melbourne, Australia: CSIRO.
, , et al. (2011). Impacts of invasive Australian acacias: implications for management and restoration. Diversity and Distributions 17: 1015–1029.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and (2000). 100 of the World’s Worst Invasive Alien Species. Auckland, New Zealand: Invasive Species Specialist Group. School of Geography, University of Auckland.Google Scholar
and (1967). The Theory of Island Biogeography. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
, , et al. (2000). Biotic invasions: causes, epidemiology, global consequences, and control. Ecological Applications 10: 689–710.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2001). Introduction to Acacia. In and (eds) Flora of Australia, volume 11A, Mimosaceae, Acacia Part 1. Canberra and Melbourne, Australia: Australian Biological Resources Study and CSIRO, pp. 3–13.Google Scholar
and (2004). AcaciaSearch. Report to the Joint Venture Agroforestry Program, Canberra. Publication No. 03/017.
and (2003) Domestication and use of Australian acacias: an overview. Australian Systematic Botany 16: 89–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, and (2003) Economic incentives for restoring natural capital in southern African rangelands. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 1: 247–254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2005) Alien invasive species: impacts on forests and forestry. Forest Resources Development Service Working Paper FBS/8E. Rome: FAO.
(1991) Far from the garden path: an identikit picture of woody ornamental plants invading south-eastern Australian bushland. PhD thesis. Department Biogeography and Geomorphology, Research School of Pacific Studies. Australian National University.
(2005) Melaleuca quinquenervia. In Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Available at: (accessed 22 April 2012).
(1983). Site susceptibility to invasion by the exotic tree Melaleuca quinquenervia in southern Florida. Journal of Applied Ecology 20: 645–658.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1984). Casuarinas: Nitrogen-Fixing Trees for Adverse Sites. Washington DC: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
and (1997). Wildlife in southern Everglades wetlands invaded by Melaleuca (Melaleuca quinquenervia). Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 41: 1–68.Google Scholar
, , , and (2010). The molecular basis of host plant selection in Melaleuca quinquenervia by a successful biological control agent. Phytochemistry 71: 1237–1244.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
, , and (1995). International Provenance Trials ofCasuarina equisetifolia. Canberra, Australia: CSIRO Division of Forestry.Google Scholar
, , , and (2005). Herbivory alters resource allocation and compensation in the invasive tree Melaleuca quinquenervia. Economic Entomology 30: 316–326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2004). Breeding systems of invasive alien plants in South Africa: does Baker’s rule apply?Diversity and Distributions 10: 409–416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2002). A Global Compendium of Weeds. Ecosystems at Risk (HEAR) project, Hawaii. Available at (accessed 22 April 2012).
, , et al. (2002). Biological attributes of the canopy-held Melaleuca seeds in Australia and Florida, US. Journal of Aquatic Plant Management 40: 87–91.Google Scholar
and (1997). Predicting invasions of woody plants introduced into North America. Conservation Biology 11: 193–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2000). Invasive plants: approaches and predictions. Austral Ecology 25: 497–506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1996). What attributes make some plant species more invasive?Ecology 77: 1655–1661.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2011). Eucalypts. In and (eds), Encyclopedia of Biological Invasions. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, pp. 203–209.Google Scholar
, , et al. (2005). Ecology of invasive plants: state of the art. In , , et al. (eds), Invasive Alien Species. Washington DC: Island Press. pp. 104–161.Google Scholar
and (2011). Trees and shrubs as invasive alien species: a global review. Diversity and Distributions 17: 788–809.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , et al. (2011). Human-mediated introductions of Australian acacias: a global experiment in biogeography. Diversity and Distributions 17: 771–787.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and (2011). Jack-of-all-trades and master of many? How does associated rhizobial diversity influence the colonization success of Australian acacia species?Diversity and Distributions 17: 946–957.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2003). Melaleuca in Florida: a literature review on the taxonomy, distribution, biology, ecology, economic importance and control measures. Journal of Aquatic Plant Management 41: 98–112.Google Scholar
, , , and (2008). The myth of plant saturation. Ecology Letters 11: 313–326.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
, , and (1998). Ecology and management of Melalecuca quinquenervia, an invader of wetlands in Florida, USA. Wetlands Ecology and Management 5: 165–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, and (2007). A comparison of spatial and spectral image resolution for mapping invasive plants in coastal California. Environmental Management 39: 63–83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
and eds, (2002). Tropical Forest Plantation Areas. Forestry Plantations Working Papers, FP/18. Rome: FAO.
, and (2009). The current and future potential distribution of Melaleuca quinquenervia. Weed Research 49: 381–390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1985). Seed dynamics and factors affecting recruitment of the mallee Eucalyptus incrassata in semi-arid, south-eastern Australia. Journal of Ecology 73: 657–666.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2004). Causes and consequences of invasive plants in wetlands: opportunities, opportunists and outcomes. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences 23: 431–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Accessibility standard: Unknown
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.Accessibility Information
Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this chapter is currently unknown
and may be updated in the future.
- 4
- Cited by