入侵物种可以描述为任何在其自然不存在的新环境中造成生态危害的生物。它们已被发现通过竞争资源和降低生物多样性导致植物和动物的灭绝。你知道在美国南部广泛使用的葛藤（Kudzu）植物的故事吗？

数千株葛藤被种植在美国南部以防止侵蚀。这种藤蔓每天通过匍匐茎、根茎和从节点生根的藤蔓向外蔓延一英尺。它现在占据了整片区域，与当地的本土植物和树木竞争。

葛藤是什么？

The Pueraria montana or Kudzu plant was brought to the United States in 1876 as an ornamental plant. They are known as the mile-a-minute and the vine that ate the South because of their ability to grow a foot long each day. This creeping and climbing vine terrorized native plants in the South of the United States to their extinction. It eventually crept its way to the Midwest, Northeast, and Oregon.

The Kudzu or kuzu is actually native to Japan and southeast China. They had sweet-smelling blossoms and really sturdy vines. The Soil Conservation Service (SCS) thought it would be an excellent tool for soil erosion control and was planted all over the South of the United States from 1930 to 1950. What the experts at the SCS did not realize is that the Kudzu would overtake anything in its path and would eventually kill any other plant life it comes across. (Source: Nature)

葛藤植物会造成哪些问题？

As mentioned, the Kudzu plant is a fast-growing vine that easily out-competes any other plant life from native grasses to full-grown trees. The loss of native plants causes an ecological imbalance that eventually harms other plant and animal life that have adapted to them. This ultimately leads to adverse effects throughout the entire ecosystem. Over time, the effects caused by the overgrowing of the Kudzu Plant will lead to species extinction and a loss of biodiversity. (Source: Nature)

气候变化会让葛藤的存在变得更糟吗？

As we know, the presence of climate change affects native species gravely. Whereas invasive species like the Kudzu Plant are more flexible to the change, the native plants do not even stand a chance of competing with them during the growing season.

葛藤植物在温和的冬季和酷热的夏季中茁壮成长。我们所经历的气候变化使它们更容易蔓延并扩散到美国各地。由于它们在干旱季节仍能存活，地区性干旱对它们有利。它们最终可能取代无法在极端天气中生存的本土植物。 (来源：Nature)

我们如何根除葛藤植物？

根据普渡大学的研究，为了削弱该植物并最终控制其生长，持续的割草以及牛和山羊的放牧都有帮助。鉴于这只是小至中等规模的生长。对于较大的区域，应在靠近根部的地面附近剪断藤蔓。随后需使用除草剂进行处理。

印第安纳州自然资源部表示，如果要使用除草剂，必须在夏季晚期施用，此时植物更容易将化学物质储存在其内部储存空间中。这会使除草剂更有效。 (来源：Nature)