Rates of spread of an invading species - Mimosa pigra in northern Australia.

The invasion of the wetlands of tropical Australia by the woody weed Mimosa pigra L. was examined at two scales: within a single wetland system on the Adelaide River Rood plains, 70 km east of Darwin, and across the entire western coastal region of the Northern Territory. Modelling indicated that, if wind dispersal alone were involved, the fastest rate of linear increase of a stand would be 18.3 m year −1 . Actual rates of spread in the wetland system were found from aerial photographs to average 76 m year −1 or greater in five out of six years. This suggests that dispersal of seeds by flotation is central to the observed rapid expansion of the weed in the region's wetlands (...)

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