The Alien Invasive Plants in Zhejiang Province,China

An analysis of relevant literature and specimen records was conducted, together with field investigations, to examine the species composition, life form, origin, harmfulness and form of introduction of alien invasive plants in Zhejiang Province, China. A total of 166 alien invasive plant species belonging to 106 genera and 46 families were identified. The most common families represented were Asteraceae, Leguminosae and Gramineae, while the most common places of origin were South America, accounting for 3216% of all species, followed by North America (2563%) and Europe (1959%). Twenty three of the species were considered to cause high levels of damage, 60 medium levels of damage, and 83 low or minimal damage. Based on our records, we removed some invasive species from existing lists and added some new ones. Several suggestions for the management of invasive plants in Zhejiang Province are presented.