Chitwan Park Struggles With Invasive S. American Vine - 20% Of Park Already Covered

[hatrack]

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A native plant of Brazil, the weed Mikania micrantha, has already covered 20% of the national park in southern Nepal. Most of the affected areas are important to the tigers, rhinos and some endangered bird species - moist places and riversides that are conducive to the growth of the invasive creeper.

"Already 50% of the rhino's habitat is covered by this alien plant," says Naresh Subedi of Nepal's National Trust for Nature Conservation, which has carried out research in the Chitwan national park. "If uncontrolled, it will spread over half of the park's entire area."

Also known as "mile by a minute" because of its fast spreading rate, the weed can smother anything that gets in its way - from grasses to even large trees. "As a result, we have seen some trees grow old quickly and die. And grasses have simply disappeared," says Narendra Man Babu Pradhan, chief warden of the park. "We call this vegetation imposition."

Conservationists say that the impacts upon the park's animals. "For example, there is this tree that bears fruits called 'rhino's apple' that is killed once it is covered by the . This means a food source for the rhinos becomes scarce," explains Mr Subedi. Mr Pradhan says that different types of grasses, which form an essential part of the diets of small animals such as deer, are also disappearing from areas of the park invaded by the weed.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8576646.stm

[conscious evolution]

1. Kudzu-Its going places

:hide:

[Lasher]

2. I was thinking we could send them some Kudzu.

Then Kudzu & Chitwan could maybe kill each other, like Frankenstein vs. The Wierwolf.