Invasive alien plants on the northern slopes of Mount Merapi National Park (MMNP), Central Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract. Fadhilah RN, Foresty RS, Fatin SK, Wela SMD, Izdihar RS, Setyawan AD. 2024. Invasive alien plants on the northern slopes of Mount Merapi National Park (MMNP), Central Java, Indonesia. Pros Sem Nas Masy Biodiv Indon 10: 45-53. Biodiversity is the variability among living organisms, including terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which these organisms are part. One of the big challenges to biodiversity sustainability is the emergence of invasive alien species, namely organisms originating from an ecosystem that enter a new ecosystem outside its natural habitat, which can threaten the existence of native species in it. This research aims to identify species of invasive alien species spreading in the Mount Merapi National Park (MMNP) area, especially on the northern slopes in Samiran Village, Selo Sub-district, Boyolali District, Central Java, Indonesia. The research was carried out from November to December 2023 on the northern slopes of MMNP using the exploratory method, a research method carried out by exploring the entire research area. This research found that data on invasive alien species amount to 28 invasive alien species, 17 families, and 3 habitus. The most commonly found family is Asteraceae with 6 species. Oxalidaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Poaceae, Polygonaceae, and Solanaceae family have 2 species each. Araceae, Cannabaceae, Commelinaceae, Convolvulaceae, Eupatoriceae, Mimosaceae, Lamiaceae, Piperaceae, Polygalaceae, and Rubiaceae family each have 1 species. Two invasive alien species, namely Acacia decurrens (Wendl.) Willd and Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit. need to be watched out for because their growth can threaten the success of restoration of native plants.