Witt, A.B.R., van Wilgen, B.W., Wise, R.M., Beale, T., Nunda, W., & Beeken, J. 2026 Current and potential economic costs of Opuntia stricta invasions in Africa. Biological invasions 28: 69

Keywords:

biological control

distribution

economic

host

Notes: In this study, the authors estimate the amount of grass forage rendered inaccessible to livestock by the invasive cactus, O. stricta. Based on the results of an eco-climatic model, and assuming O. stricta will invade a conservatively estimated proportion of climatically suitable areas, the costs of lost grazing are extrapolated to the rest of the continent under plausible scenarios of rate of spread and area likely to be invaded over the next 50 years. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-026-03778-7