Synthesis
Synthesis
The specialty I had chosen was native and non-native plants because early on in the semester I realized that a lot of plants we saw at our field sites were not native to the area. At the end of our trips, we gathered our data and concluded that there were about equal amounts of both types of plants. I did not expect to see such a large amount of non-native plants in the area.
The main observational trend noticed from our data was that there was a large amount of non-native plants in comparison to native. Research has shown that “the introduction of species beyond their native range as a direct or indirect result of human action causes changes in the ecosystems to which they are introduced” (Jeschke). These changes can sometimes result in the extinction of a species. For example, non-native plants bring with them pathogens, which can kill native plants. Another way non-native species can affect native species is by competing with them for space and nutrients. With the increase of non-native plants, the biodiversity decreases. Since the health of the biosphere is interconnected, this will affect human, ecosystem and biosphere health (Manchester). Lastly, my observations also demonstrated that the most plant diversity was found in the most natural habitats with the least human activity. I found the most native plants at JPL and that was also the location with the least human activity. Research shows that human activity alters the abiotic and biotic environment “by human-mediated dispersal of species into new regions, where they can naturalize and cause ecological, economic and social damage” (Kleunen). Thus, sustaining natural habitats are crucial to the health of the ecosystem. Plants are just a small part of the entire biosphere and yet we already see the negative impacts of human activity on them. We have a lot of non-native plants in the area, but instead we need to take care of what we already have.
Biodiversity is essential to the conservation of native plants and the very first step should be compiling a list of species that are in danger of extinction. If we don’t have data, how can we conserve? Research shows that plant conservation does not receive as much funding as animal conservation, thus it lags behind. Richard Corlett in his article, “Plant diversity in a changing world,” states “fewer than 20,000 plant species have been formally assessed so far at the global level using the IUCN Red List criteria.” This is a serious problem and an area that needs immediate attention by the public. Native plants will slowly start dying out if conservation efforts are not improved.
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