Impact of invasive on maize and cassava growth in East Usambara, Tanzania.

The impacts of invasive alien plant species on native plants are generally well documented, but little is known about the mechanisms underlying their impacts on crop growth. A better understanding of immediate as well as legacy effects and of direct and indirect impacts of invasive alien plant species is essential for an improved management of invaded cropland. We investigated how impacts the growth of two subsistence crops (maize and cassava) through competition for resources, allelopathy and the indirect plant-plant interactions.