Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-2022
Abstract
Several introduced African grasses are known to present recurring patterns of invasiveness and cause a severe impact on the diversity and functioning of ecosystems worldwide. Megathyrsus maximus (Guinea grass), a forage grass species native to South Africa, is reported to be highly invasive and pose a serious threat to native biodiversity in the introduced range. Despite the severe ecological threats posed by M. maximus worldwide, there is a dearth of information on the ecological and agroecological impact of M. maximus when growing in unintended areas. In this review, we present general information on M. maximus, its distribution and ecological threats it poses, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. We highlight the gaps in current knowledge on the impact on recipient communities, challenges in effective management, and potential impacts due to climate change, particularly changes in rainfall patterns. We also stress the need for public awareness about the threats posed by M. maximus to prevent its invasion in unintended areas.
Recommended Citation
Soti, P. & Thomas, V. (2022) Review of the invasive forage Grass, Guinea grass (Megathyrsus maximus): Ecology and potential impacts in arid and semi-arid regions. Weed Research, 62, 68–74. https://doi.org/10.1111/wre.12512
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Publication Title
Weed Research
DOI
10.1111/wre.12512
Comments
This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Soti, P. & Thomas, V. (2021) Review of the invasive forage Grass, Guinea grass (Megathyrsus maximus): Ecology and potential impacts in arid and semi-arid regions. Weed Research, 00, 1– 7. https://doi.org/10.1111/wre.12512 which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/wre.12512. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions