ibclogo XVI International Botanical Congess


Abstract Number: 3520
Session = 8.6.6


THE CHANGING STRUCTURE OF THE BIOTIC WORLD


H.A. Mooney, Stanford University, California, USA


Of all of the global changes that are occurring through the activities of humans, the breakdown of the major biogeographic barriers is one of the most dramatic and one that will have the most permanent effect. The breaching of these barriers, thorough human commerce, has resulted in an unprecedented mixing of world's biota, with large impacts on biodiversity patterns and on ecosystem functioning. Unlike the effects of other global change drivers that may be reversible in time, there is essentially no recall for invasive species. All indications are that the invasive species problem will get worse rather than better in the future as global commerce accelerates, habitat disruption and nitrogen deposition increases and global warming starts having a larger effect. We do have at hand options for stemming the flood of invasives and these options will be discussed.


HTML-Version made 7. July 1999 by Kurt Stüber