Annals of Plant Sciences 6.12 (2017) pp. 1872-1878 Corresponding Author: Dr. Ashwini Kumar Dixit, Associate Professor, Department of Botany, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, India. E-mail: dixitak@live.com http://dx.doi.org/10.21746/aps.2017.6.12.13 Page | 1872 Research Article Occurrence of Invasive Plant in three phytogeographical region of Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh Darakhsha Kauser Sheikh and Ashwini Kumar Dixit* Department of Botany, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, India. Received: 2017-11-07; Revised: 2017-11-09; Accepted: 2017-11-25 Abstract: The present study deals with comprehensive list of invasive species in the flora of Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh, India with background information of family, nativity, mode of introduction, flowering and fruiting. 83 species of plant belong to 26 families were documented as invasive plant in all three phytogeographical regions (agricultural land, urban land and protected land). Both native and invasive plants were found in the same region, but the occurrence of invasive species were found high in the urban land (34.58%) in comparison with protected land (29.16%) and agriculture land (25%). Habit wise analysis of invasive species showed 84.52% herbs, followed by 13.09% shrubs and 2.38% climbers. Maximum proportion of invasive plant are native to Tropical America and belongs to family Asteraceae (16), followed by Malvaceae (9), Euphorbiaceae (8), Fabaceae (6), Solanaceae (5), Convolvulaceae (4) and Lamiaceae (4). Keywords: Occurrence, Nativity, Invasive species, Mode of Introduction. Introduction International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) defines invasive species as an alien species which established in natural or semi-natural ecosystems or habitat and threatens to native biological diversity. A large number of invasive species worldwide were introduced accidentally through transportation or intentionally for commercial purposes, value to human health and economic purposes (Ewel et al., 1999). Biological invasion of invading species cause species extinction (D’Antonio and Vitousek, 1992), and long-lasting change on habitats, which makes the restoration of native plants impossible, even when the invasive plants have been detached. Invasive plants affect the ecosystem functions, ecosystem processes, primary productivity, hydrology, geomorphology and biogeochemical cycle of an area (Vitousek et al., 1997; Gordon, 1998; Mack et al., 2000; Ehrenfeld, 2003; Liao et al., 2007). These species do not separate native plant diversity but compete with the local community for the limited natural resources and alter the rule of existence for all species (Vitousek et al., 1997). Litter of these invasive plants decomposed very slowly than those of the native plant community (Allison and Vitousek, 2004; Rothstein et al., 2004). Mantri et al., (2002) gave 10 laws for examining the potential of invasive species. Aforesaid 10 laws are as follows (1) High input of viable propagules (2) High rate of aerial biomass production (3) Seeds or other reproductive unit with extensive period of dormancy (4) Adaptative features for long distance dispersal (5) Allelopathic effect on native plant community (6) Successful colonizer in disturbed land (7) Short time to overcome the reproductive maturity (8) Dense foliage canopy (9) Alternative mode of reproduction that facilitate to grow on adverse conditions (10) Wide distribution of species in different ecotypes (Figure-1). Long distance dispersal of seed results due to their adhesive properties (Cousens and Mortimer, 1995). Many plant seeds modified into special structure like awned, hooked, sticky, or barbed appendages for dispersal. These seeds stick to animal fur, insects and human clothes for dispersal (Sorensen, 1986). Davies and Sheley, (2007) gave a conceptual framework for dispersal of invasive plants seeds through wind, water, and vehicle. GISD (Global Invasive Species Database) reported 100 worst invasive species throughout the world (Lowe et al., 2000). Numerous works regarding the distribution of invasive plants done all over the world (Daehler and Carino, 2000; Zhu et al., 2007). Similarly, various studies have been done in different states of India such as Himanchal Pradesh (Dogra et al., 2009), North West Himalaya (Negi and Hajra, 2007), Rajasthan (Pandey and Parmar, 1994), Himalayan region (Sekar, 2012) and special work on India (Raghubanshi et al., 2005; Reddy, 2008; Dogra et al., 2009; Nayar, 1977). Phytochemical screening of several invasive species has been analyzed by Baral, (2011); Rashmi and Rajkumar, (2011). Harmful effects of invasive plants such as habitat destruction, environmental damage, soil erosion etc. have been reported by Towns et al., 2006; and Jordon et al., 2008. Dixit and Chourasia, (2015) studied the ethnomedicinal importance of weeds of GGU campus, Bilaspur, CG. In