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Accepted manuscript

Invasion alert: Lindenleaf sage (Salvia tiliifolia) in the Tigray highlands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2025

Jan Nyssen*
Affiliation:
Professor emeritus, Department of Geography, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium, and Guest professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia
Rishan Haile
Affiliation:
Lecturer, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia
Getachew Gebremedhin
Affiliation:
Research technician, Hagere Selam, Tigray, Ethiopia
Zbelo Tesfamariam
Affiliation:
Associate professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia
Jesús Guadalupe González-Gallegos
Affiliation:
Senior scientist, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional – Unidad Durango, Durango, Mexico
Tesfaalem Ghebreyohannes
Affiliation:
Associate professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia
*
*Author for correspondence: Jan Nyssen, Professor emeritus, Department of Geography, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 (S8), B-9000 Gent, Belgium. (E-mail: [email protected])
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Abstract

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Lindenleaf sage (Salvia tiliifolia Vahl) is an annual plant native to Mesoamerica that thrives in tropical, seasonally dry environments. It was introduced to Ethiopia in the late 20th century and made its way to the Tembien highlands in Tigray in 2018. With its many branching stems and profusion of seeds, this upright pioneer plant becomes dominant in the herbaceous layer of intensively used rangeland and roadsides before spreading to areas with other land uses, including agricultural land. Visual observations show that in areas with less grazing pressure, S. tiliifolia is not prevalent. Farmers uproot S. tiliifolia from their crops, which is rather simple because this species is easily recognized, and its roots do not withstand much force. On rangeland, weeding is labor-intensive. As an alternative, we recommend converting rangelands into managed exclosures to maximize grass production, with initial S. tiliifolia removal. Natural vegetation regrowth on infested places would keep the most significant S. tiliifolia seed supply under control and reduce the species’ invasion of farmlands.

Type
Invasion Alert
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Weed Science Society of America