Impact of Invasive Plant Species: Invasion of Invasive Plant Species in the Indian NW Himalaya (Himachal Pradesh) and Impact on the Native Flora

Invasive plant species alter native community composition, deplete species diversity, affect ecosystem process and thus cause huge economic and ecological imbalance. These plants possess a set of remarkable traits that allow them to colonize huge areas upon invasion. Studies of invasive species introductions in the past revealed that the impacts of their invasion are complex and can permanently alter the structure and function of communities, cause local extinctions and changes in ecosystem processes. The increased incidence of invasion around the world poses a major threat to indigenous biological diversity. The authentic identification, documentation and characterization of the alien plant species in various areas become very popular to find out the strategies and methods to manage them in their introduced habitats. Especially it is very important to put separately indigenous and alien/exotic plant species in the recently compiled floras as they would be helpful to find out proper ways for their management.