INVASIVE ALIEN PLANTS OF COTE DIVOIRE: AN UPDATE AND PROPOSED CLASSIFICATION BASED ON ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

Background and aims: Scientific data on alien plants and classification of invasive alien plants on the basis of environmental impacts are lacking in Cote dIvoire. The present study was carried out to improve the knowledge on exotic and invasive plants in Cote dIvoire. Methods: In order to compile a list of alien and invasive plants in Cote dIvoire, published books and articles as well as national, regional and international online databases were consulted. Alien species were classified into cultivated and naturalized species. The naturalized species were further subdivided into proven invasives, potential invasives, plants to watch and plants without status in Cote dIvoire. For the list of proven invasive plants, the 4 stages of the different stages in the invasion process were applied. Finally, the proven invasive plants were classified taking into account the major and minor impacts on the environment. Key Results: The Ivorian flora includes 851 introduced or exotic species distributed in 524 genera and 137 families. These taxa are divided into 127 cultivated species and 724 naturalized species. Of all the naturalized taxa, 28 species are proven invasive plants or invasives, 34 are potential invasives, 283 are plants to be monitored and 379 are without status. The classification of the 28 proven invasive plants is divided into : 4 plants with massive impacts (MA), 10 plants with major impacts (MR), 6 plants with moderate impacts (MO) and 8 plants with minor impacts (MI). Conclusion: This study proposes a list of alien and invasive plants in Cote dIvoire. It also proposes a classification for proven invasive alien taxa according to their environmental impacts. It could constitute an important database on exotic, naturalized, proven invasive, potential invasive plants and plants to be monitored in Cote dIvoire. Biodiversity managers could thus rely on this work to establish effective strategies to control invasive plants in Cote dIvoire.