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Cactus is a unique succulent plant, native to the Americas, introduced to China in the 17th century, after nearly 4 centuries of development, cactus has been seen everywhere in China.
Nowadays, in some places, cacti have become a very influential invasive alien plant, which has a great impact on the ecology of our country. The Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has listed cactus as a second-class invasive species (seriously invasive).
The cactus family is a unique succulent plant that was first introduced to Taiwan by the Dutch in the mid-17th century (around 1645), the first introduction of the cactus family in China.
According to the 1702 Lingnan Miscellaneous, cacti had already begun to be cultivated in Guangdong. Since then, the cactus has gradually spread throughout the country and has become a common plant in Chinese garden landscapes.
The cactus is a succulent shrub of the cactus family, which can reach up to 3 meters in height;It protects itself mainly through its lush thorns and hard stems.
Cacti are native to the east coast of Mexico, the southern and southeastern coastal regions of the United States, the West Indies, Bermuda, and northern South America.
They grow quickly and are able to survive in extremely arid environments, so they are easily seen in tropical and **zone regions.
The cactus invasion areas in China are mainly in Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Hainan, Taiwan and Tianjin.
Distribution map of the main invasions of cacti.
Cactus is an easy-to-grow, adaptable plant. But due to its extreme adaptability and reproductive ability, it has invaded many places today.
It has caused serious ecological damage and economic losses in China, and the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has designated cactus as a second-class invasive species (seriously invasive).
Regarding the invasion of cacti, the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that because cacti can survive in extreme environments, people will grow them as ornamental plants, causing cacti to multiply in these areas.
In addition, environmental changes in some areas, such as drought and land degradation, may also lead to the invasion of cacti.
1.Invasion of farmland: Cacti can invade farmland and compete with crops for sunlight, water and nutrients, resulting in reduced crop yields or even no harvest.
2.Damage to the ecological environment: Cacti have a strong reproductive ability, and once they invade a certain place, they will quickly spread and multiply in large numbers, destroying the local ecological environment. Cacti occupy the growth space of other plants, reduce vegetation coverage, and disrupt the ecological balance.
3.Threats to native plant populations: Cacti compete with native plants for sunlight, water, and nutrients, leading to a decline in native plant populations, or even extinction. This is extremely harmful to the protection of China's biodiversity and the maintenance of ecological balance.
A cactus escaping from the wild.
1.Strengthen monitoring and supervision: increase the monitoring of cactus invasions, and detect and deal with new invasions in a timely manner. At the same time, strengthen the supervision of the illegal introduction, transportation and sale of invasive alien species such as cactus, and eliminate the problem of invasion from the source.
2.Manual control: For cacti that have been invaded, manual control can be adopted, for example, the use of herbicides, mechanical removal and other means to remove and control.
3.Chemical control: Chemical control is an effective control method that uses specialized herbicides to kill the roots, stems and leaves of cacti.
4.Biological control: Biological control is a green and environmentally friendly control method, which can use the natural enemies of cactus, such as Beauveria bassiana, predatory mites, etc., to control the reproduction and spread of cactus.
The cactus native to the Americas has been listed as a second-class invasive species in China, which has caused serious harm to China's ecological environment and economy. We need to take comprehensive prevention and control measures, strengthen monitoring and supervision, artificial control, chemical control, biological control and other means to jointly curb the invasion of cacti and protect China's ecological environment and economic development.