Effects of para grass (Urochloa mutica (Forssk.) T.Q.Nguyen) invasion on terrestrial invertebrates of a tropical floodplain

摘要

Para grass is becoming an increasingly common weed across Australia's tropical rivers and floodplains. There are concerns about its effects on biodiversity, but there have been few attempts to quantify these. This study compared the terrestrial invertebrates found in para grass, two species of native grass, hymenachne, wild rice, and areas where para grass was removed with herbicide, Samples were collected in the dry season and the wet season. In both seasons, para grass had lower richness and abundance of terrestrial invertebrates than hymenachne. There were no noticeable differences between para grass and wild rice. Differences were probably due to the lower plant moisture and nutritional quality of para grass and could have effects on other floodplain fauna.