Interim profile, incomplete information
General Impact
Alpinia zerumbet forms dense thickets in suitable habitats, for example on stream banks and shady slopes (PIER, 2008).
Location Specific Impacts:Green Mountain National Park (Saint Helena) Reduction in native biodiversity: Green Mountain declared a National Park in 2005, is the highest point on Ascension island at 859 metres. It was originally covered with a carpet of ferns, endemics like the ‘Near Threatened (NT) Marattia purpurascens, the ‘Critically Endangered (CR)’ Pteris adscensionis, and (CR) Anogramma ascensionis, the ‘Near Threatened (NT)’ Asplenium ascensionis, and (NT) Xiphopteris ascensionis, and the tiny grass the ‘Vulnerable (VU)’ Sporobolus caesitosus. The upper slopes of Green Mountain are now clothed in dense forest and scrub composed of introduced species such as shell ginger (Alpinia zerumbet), lovechaste (Vitex trifolia), koster's curse (Clidemia hirta) and bramble (Rubus pinnatus). Lower areas are covered by large, unbroken tracts of guava (Psidium guajava), yellowboy (Tecoma stans), seedwork acacia (Leucaena leucocephala), she-oak (Casuarina equisetifolia) and greasy grass (Melinis minutiflora). Management of the introduced species to prevent further spread and the reintroduction of small pockets of endemic ferns are some of the actions ongoing to conserve endemic species and the conservation value of Green Mountain (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 2010). Threat to endangered species: Green Mountain declared a National Park in 2005, is the highest point on Ascension island at 859 metres. It was originally covered with a carpet of ferns, endemics like the ‘Near Threatened (NT) Marattia purpurascens, the ‘Critically Endangered (CR)’ Pteris adscensionis, and (CR) Anogramma ascensionis, the ‘Near Threatened (NT)’ Asplenium ascensionis, and (NT) Xiphopteris ascensionis, and the tiny grass the ‘Vulnerable (VU)’ Sporobolus caesitosus. The upper slopes of Green Mountain are now clothed in dense forest and scrub composed of introduced species such as shell ginger (Alpinia zerumbet), lovechaste (Vitex trifolia), koster's curse (Clidemia hirta) and bramble (Rubus pinnatus). Lower areas are covered by large, unbroken tracts of guava (Psidium guajava), yellowboy (Tecoma stans), seedwork acacia (Leucaena leucocephala), she-oak (Casuarina equisetifolia) and greasy grass (Melinis minutiflora). Management of the introduced species to prevent further spread and the reintroduction of small pockets of endemic ferns are some of the actions ongoing to conserve endemic species and the conservation value of Green Mountain (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 2010).
|