Ecological Mechanisms and Weed Biology of World's Worst Invasive Alien Plant Mikania micrantha: Policy Measures for Sustainable Management

Abstract

Invasive alien plants (IAPs) perturb biodiversity, ecosystem services, rural livelihood, and human health/well-being. To this end, the harmful effects of Mikania micrantha established it as worst global IAP. Nevertheless, finitude of past studies on invasion ecology, weed biology, and management aspects of M. micrantha paves the way to systematically review this IAP for holistic knowledge, inextricably linked with policy formulations. Henceforth, present systematic review aims to provide a critical assessment of previous studies, underscore the knowledge gaps, and synthesize the current pragmatic research advances on M. micrantha for elucidating management options. Standard methods were used to collect the literary evidences on multiple thematic aspects linked with its biology and management. Results revealed the substantial harmful impacts of M. micrantha on ecosystems, ascribed to multiple physiological, biochemical, molecular, and genetic mechanisms. Further, multitude of plant traits such as rapid stem elongation and efficient reproductive strategies imposed serious challenges in control of M. micrantha. Deployment of traditional control methods in conjunction with exploring the beneficial biorefinery and human health prospects of M. micrantha may help in its confinement. Nevertheless, the research on beneficial prospects associated with its biomass utilization are still narrow to endure field-scale and long-term management. In conclusion, policy measures like strict biosecurity/legal regulations, explicit elucidation of weed biology, early detection and response, ecological modeling, and “integrated weed management” with community participation can expand the horizon of M. micrantha control and help achieve its sustainable management, concomitantly buttressing the United Nation's “Sustainable Development Goals” and “Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.”. © 2025 Weed Science Society of Japan.