Biocontrol of invasive weeds under climate change: progress, challenges and management
Sun, Y., Ding, J., Siemann, E. & Keller, S. R. (2020). Biocontrol of invasive weeds under climate change: progress, challenges and management. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 38:72-78. PDF.
Summary
Classical biocontrol of invasive plants, in which insect agents from the invasive plant’s native range are introduced to reduce the plant’s spread in the invaded range, can be effective in managing invasive plants. But understanding the impacts of biocontrol is key; its efficacy will likely be influenced by climate change. Sun and colleagues (2020) summarized recent literature in order to help researchers and managers make predictions on how invasive plants and biocontrol agents may respond to climate change. Elevated CO2 levels can change plant C:N ratios and increase herbivory, or cause an increase in phenolic production and reduce herbivory. Combined with increased temperature, it can also increase plant growth rates, increase the number of insect generations per year, and trigger the migration of both invasive plants and biocontrol agents. Predicting the strength of each effect is important, requiring studies on ecological and evolutionary responses to climate change. Ecological responses could be measured by predicting habitat and climate suitability for plants and agents with species-distribution models. Rapid-evolutionary responses can be understood by assessing the genetic variance of traits involved in plant-agent interactions, through tracking the response in traits when put under climate-change growing conditions.
Take home points
Climate change will impact both invasive plants and insect biocontrol agents, as elevated CO2 levels affect the metabolism, growth, and range of plants and agents.
It is not yet clear what the net effect of climate change on plants and agents will be, or how it will play out in our ecosystems.
Studies are needed on how climate change will alter plant-agent interactions, by predicting ecological effects within generations, and rapid-evolutionary effects across generations.
Management implications
Biocontrol agents can be an effective way of managing invasive plants, but they exist in a web of ecological interactions that can be affected by climate change.
Studying and predicting the impact of climate change on plants and biocontrol will help limit non-target impacts.
Read more about this topic: Diaz et al. 2012, Lu et al. 2013
Keywords
Management Efficacy; Impact Study; Review; Invasive Plant