PEEPLE of the Soil: Issue 6

Page 54

IT STARTS AT HOME words by Gladman Thondhlana environmental conditions for the potential survival and spread of many alien species as they tend to outcompete native species for resources such as water and nutrients, which results in cities being prone to biological invasions.

Invasive alien species (IAS) in urban environments are a growing concern due to their varied impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and human wellbeing. Urban area settings differ in their key characteristics including their size, shape and population density. Human-transformed or disturbed environments are heavily concentrated in urban areas which makes urban cities alien invasive hotspots. Moreover, disturbance in urban areas provides favourable

Processes such as human disturbances, homogenisation of plant species, pollution, and pressure of IAS are synonymous with cities and towns. Highly populated areas such as China

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