Ecologists fear that invasive plants would crowd out native species on Taiwan’s high mountains if the government does not take concerted conservation efforts and harmful construction practices continue, advocates said on Wednesday.
New Power Party Legislator Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) called on authorities to draft a report within a month on the threat to native vegetation brought by tourism and construction on mountains higher than 3,000m.
The report should include a strategy to address the problem, she said, vowing to convene a committee to track progress on the proposals.
Photo: Yang Cheng-yu, Taipei Times
Chen made the remarks at a news conference at the legislature in Taipei that she jointly convened with National Taiwan University ecology professor Wang Chun-neng (王俊能) and other experts.
Taiwan has about 3,600 species of flowering plants, about 900 of which are native, Wang said, adding that half of the world’s flowering alpine plants are native to their habitat.
Already endangered by climate change, alpine plants are facing additional threats through human activity, he said.
Invasive species can spread into conservation zones from gardens or by construction crews reinforcing slopes along roadways, he said.
Over five years, some invasive species can increase the area they cover 20-fold, posing a grave threat to endemic species, he added.
Invasive plants brought by construction crews threaten the survival of native alpine plants, Taiwan Academy of Ecology director Yang Kuoh-cheng (楊國禎) said.
Seeking to meet conservation rules and quickly beautifying the site, workers often plant hardy foreign species like tall fescue and perennial ryegrass after construction is completed, he said.
For example, after completing a slope fortification project near the 32km marker on Provincial Highway 14, the crew planted ryegrass and a type of lily that is not native to the area, Yang said.
Other places, such as a parking lot at Siaofengkou (小風口) on Hehuanshan (合歡山), have been completely overrun by non-native plants, he added.
Construction crews are instructed to plant native vegetation before leaving the site, said Huang Tzu-chuan (黃子娟), director of the national parks division at the Ministry of the Interior’s Construction and Planning Agency.
If an invasive species is identified in a national park, the division would communicate with the unit responsible and survey the site, she said.
In addition to the report, Chen also suggested that contracts for construction projects include a clause that prohibits dispersing foreign seeds.
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