<p>Имајући&nbsp; у&nbsp; виду&nbsp; значај&nbsp; површинских&nbsp; вода&nbsp; у продору&nbsp; и&nbsp; ширењу&nbsp; страних&nbsp; инвазивних врста,&nbsp; циљеви&nbsp; овог&nbsp; рада&nbsp; били&nbsp; су&nbsp; да&nbsp; се представи&nbsp; актуелно&nbsp; стање&nbsp; присуства&nbsp; и дистрибуције&nbsp; акватичних&nbsp; инвазивних биљних&nbsp; врста&nbsp; у&nbsp; површинским&nbsp; копненим водама,&nbsp; анализира&nbsp; степен&nbsp; инвазије рипаријалних&nbsp; зона&nbsp; на&nbsp; подручју&nbsp; Србије, одреди&nbsp; везаност&nbsp; анализираних&nbsp; инвазивних<br />врста&nbsp; за&nbsp; поједине&nbsp; типове&nbsp; станишта&nbsp; у рипаријалу река и канала и анализира утицај различитих&nbsp; станишних&nbsp; и&nbsp; антропогених фактора&nbsp; на&nbsp; присуство&nbsp; и&nbsp; абунданцу&nbsp; 26 одабраних&nbsp; инвазивних&nbsp; таксона.&nbsp; Теренска истраживања&nbsp; вршена&nbsp; су&nbsp; у&nbsp; периоду&nbsp; од&nbsp; 2013. до&nbsp; 2016.&nbsp; године.&nbsp; За&nbsp; потребе&nbsp; овог&nbsp; рада анализирано је 250 локалитета, од чега 217 у рипаријалу&nbsp; 39&nbsp; река&nbsp; и&nbsp; 33&nbsp; у&nbsp; рипаријалу&nbsp; шест<br />деоница&nbsp; канала&nbsp; хидросистема&nbsp; Дунав-Тиса-Дунав.&nbsp; Уз&nbsp; податке&nbsp; о&nbsp; бројности&nbsp; и<br />покровности&nbsp; заступљених&nbsp; биљних&nbsp; врста, сакупљани&nbsp; су&nbsp; и&nbsp; подаци&nbsp; о&nbsp; типу&nbsp; станишта&nbsp; (у складу&nbsp; са&nbsp; EUNIS&nbsp; класификацијом), релевантним&nbsp; физичким&nbsp; и<br />хидроморфолошким&nbsp; карактеристикама истраживаних&nbsp; водотокова&nbsp; и&nbsp; доминантним антропогеним&nbsp; утицајима&nbsp; на&nbsp; истраживаном локалитету&nbsp; (у&nbsp; складу&nbsp; са&nbsp; стандардним протоколом&nbsp; RHS&nbsp; методе).&nbsp; Статистичка обрада&nbsp; података&nbsp; вршена&nbsp; је&nbsp; у&nbsp; софтверу CANOCO&nbsp; 5.0,&nbsp; применом&nbsp; анализе&nbsp; главних компоненти&nbsp; (РСА),&nbsp; канонијскe коресподентнe&nbsp; анализе&nbsp; (CCA)&nbsp; и&nbsp; анализе редундантности&nbsp; (RDA).&nbsp; На&nbsp; територији Србије&nbsp; забележено&nbsp; је&nbsp; присуство&nbsp; осам акватичних&nbsp; инвазивних&nbsp; биљних&nbsp; врстаПрема&nbsp; броју&nbsp; налаза&nbsp; истичу&nbsp; се&nbsp; врсте Vallisneria spiralis, Azolla filiculoides и Elodea&nbsp; nuttallii.&nbsp; Примарно су заступљене у текућим,<br />у односу на стајаће воде, при чему се мрежа&nbsp; канала&nbsp; ХС&nbsp; ДТД&nbsp; и&nbsp; речни&nbsp; токови&nbsp; који&nbsp; припадају&nbsp; сливу&nbsp; Дунава&nbsp; могу&nbsp; сматрати&nbsp; основним&nbsp; акватичним&nbsp; коридорима&nbsp; њиховог&nbsp; ширења.&nbsp; Од&nbsp; 26&nbsp; таксона&nbsp; инвазивних&nbsp; биљака&nbsp; чије&nbsp; је&nbsp; присуство&nbsp; праћено&nbsp; и&nbsp; анализирано&nbsp; у&nbsp; рипаријалним&nbsp; подручјима,&nbsp; таксони&nbsp; са<br />највећим&nbsp; бројем&nbsp; налаза&nbsp; су&nbsp;<em> Xanthium&nbsp; strumarium</em>&nbsp; subsp.&nbsp; <em>italicum,&nbsp; Amorpha</em> <em>fruticosa, Erigeron&nbsp; canadensis,&nbsp; Robinia&nbsp; pseudoacacia&nbsp; и&nbsp; Echinochloa&nbsp; crus-galli.</em>&nbsp; Речни&nbsp; сливови Дунава,&nbsp; Јужне&nbsp; Мораве,&nbsp; Западне&nbsp; Мораве&nbsp; и&nbsp; Тимока&nbsp; истичу&nbsp; се&nbsp; по&nbsp; заступљености&nbsp; истраживаних таксона. На основу података о дистрибуцији,&nbsp; бројности&nbsp; и&nbsp; покровности&nbsp; анализираних&nbsp; таксона&nbsp; сливови&nbsp; Дунава, Колубаре и Западне Мораве издвојили су се&nbsp; као&nbsp; коридори&nbsp; ширења&nbsp; највећег&nbsp; броја<br />истраживаних&nbsp; таксона.&nbsp; Четири&nbsp; типа&nbsp; станишта&nbsp; издвојила&nbsp; су&nbsp; се&nbsp; према<br />заступљености&nbsp; инвазивних&nbsp; биљних&nbsp; врста.&nbsp; Таксони који су забележени у највећем броју&nbsp; типова&nbsp; станишта&nbsp; су:&nbsp; <em>Amorpha&nbsp; fruticosa, Erigeron&nbsp; canadensis,&nbsp;</em> <em>Robinia&nbsp; pseudoacacia, Echinochloa crus-galli&nbsp;</em> и&nbsp; <em>Xanthium strumarium subsp</em>.&nbsp; <em>italicum.</em>&nbsp; Као&nbsp; резултат&nbsp; нумеричких&nbsp; анализа&nbsp; издвојени&nbsp; су&nbsp; физички&nbsp; и<br />хидроморфолошки параметри истраживаних&nbsp; водотокова&nbsp; и&nbsp; доминантни&nbsp; антропогени&nbsp; утицаји који на истраживаном локалитетима утичу&nbsp; на&nbsp; присуство&nbsp; и&nbsp; абунданцу&nbsp; анализираних&nbsp; таксона.&nbsp; У&nbsp; условима&nbsp; глобалних&nbsp; климатских&nbsp; промена&nbsp; може&nbsp; се&nbsp; очекивати да ће се&nbsp; у наредном периоду под снажним&nbsp; притиском&nbsp; ширења&nbsp; и&nbsp; доминације&nbsp; инвазивних врста наћи сливови Саве, Велике Мораве&nbsp; и&nbsp; Јужне&nbsp; Мораве.&nbsp; У&nbsp; рипаријалним областима на југозападу наше земље (долине Лима,&nbsp; Ибра&nbsp; и&nbsp; њихових&nbsp; притока)&nbsp; као&nbsp; и&nbsp; рипаријалним&nbsp; зонама&nbsp; планинских&nbsp; и високопланинских&nbsp; области&nbsp; такође&nbsp; је очекивано&nbsp; да&nbsp; ће&nbsp; доћи&nbsp; до&nbsp; повећања&nbsp; броја присутних&nbsp; инвазивних&nbsp; врста&nbsp; и&nbsp; њиховог даљег ширења.</p> / <p>Imajući&nbsp; u&nbsp; vidu&nbsp; značaj&nbsp; površinskih&nbsp; voda&nbsp; u prodoru&nbsp; i&nbsp; širenju&nbsp; stranih&nbsp; invazivnih vrsta,&nbsp; ciljevi&nbsp; ovog&nbsp; rada&nbsp; bili&nbsp; su&nbsp; da&nbsp; se predstavi&nbsp; aktuelno&nbsp; stanje&nbsp; prisustva&nbsp; i distribucije&nbsp; akvatičnih&nbsp; invazivnih biljnih&nbsp; vrsta&nbsp; u&nbsp; površinskim&nbsp; kopnenim vodama,&nbsp; analizira&nbsp; stepen&nbsp; invazije riparijalnih&nbsp; zona&nbsp; na&nbsp; području&nbsp; Srbije, odredi&nbsp; vezanost&nbsp; analiziranih&nbsp; invazivnih<br />vrsta&nbsp; za&nbsp; pojedine&nbsp; tipove&nbsp; staništa&nbsp; u riparijalu reka i kanala i analizira uticaj različitih&nbsp; stanišnih&nbsp; i&nbsp; antropogenih faktora&nbsp; na&nbsp; prisustvo&nbsp; i&nbsp; abundancu&nbsp; 26 odabranih&nbsp; invazivnih&nbsp; taksona.&nbsp; Terenska istraživanja&nbsp; vršena&nbsp; su&nbsp; u&nbsp; periodu&nbsp; od&nbsp; 2013. do&nbsp; 2016.&nbsp; godine.&nbsp; Za&nbsp; potrebe&nbsp; ovog&nbsp; rada analizirano je 250 lokaliteta, od čega 217 u riparijalu&nbsp; 39&nbsp; reka&nbsp; i&nbsp; 33&nbsp; u&nbsp; riparijalu&nbsp; šest<br />deonica&nbsp; kanala&nbsp; hidrosistema&nbsp; Dunav-Tisa-Dunav.&nbsp; Uz&nbsp; podatke&nbsp; o&nbsp; brojnosti&nbsp; i<br />pokrovnosti&nbsp; zastupljenih&nbsp; biljnih&nbsp; vrsta, sakupljani&nbsp; su&nbsp; i&nbsp; podaci&nbsp; o&nbsp; tipu&nbsp; staništa&nbsp; (u skladu&nbsp; sa&nbsp; EUNIS&nbsp; klasifikacijom), relevantnim&nbsp; fizičkim&nbsp; i<br />hidromorfološkim&nbsp; karakteristikama istraživanih&nbsp; vodotokova&nbsp; i&nbsp; dominantnim antropogenim&nbsp; uticajima&nbsp; na&nbsp; istraživanom lokalitetu&nbsp; (u&nbsp; skladu&nbsp; sa&nbsp; standardnim protokolom&nbsp; RHS&nbsp; metode).&nbsp; Statistička obrada&nbsp; podataka&nbsp; vršena&nbsp; je&nbsp; u&nbsp; softveru CANOCO&nbsp; 5.0,&nbsp; primenom&nbsp; analize&nbsp; glavnih komponenti&nbsp; (RSA),&nbsp; kanonijske korespodentne&nbsp; analize&nbsp; (CCA)&nbsp; i&nbsp; analize redundantnosti&nbsp; (RDA).&nbsp; Na&nbsp; teritoriji Srbije&nbsp; zabeleženo&nbsp; je&nbsp; prisustvo&nbsp; osam akvatičnih&nbsp; invazivnih&nbsp; biljnih&nbsp; vrstaPrema&nbsp; broju&nbsp; nalaza&nbsp; ističu&nbsp; se&nbsp; vrste Vallisneria spiralis, Azolla filiculoides i Elodea&nbsp; nuttallii.&nbsp; Primarno su zastupljene u tekućim,<br />u odnosu na stajaće vode, pri čemu se mreža&nbsp; kanala&nbsp; HS&nbsp; DTD&nbsp; i&nbsp; rečni&nbsp; tokovi&nbsp; koji&nbsp; pripadaju&nbsp; slivu&nbsp; Dunava&nbsp; mogu&nbsp; smatrati&nbsp; osnovnim&nbsp; akvatičnim&nbsp; koridorima&nbsp; njihovog&nbsp; širenja.&nbsp; Od&nbsp; 26&nbsp; taksona&nbsp; invazivnih&nbsp; biljaka&nbsp; čije&nbsp; je&nbsp; prisustvo&nbsp; praćeno&nbsp; i&nbsp; analizirano&nbsp; u&nbsp; riparijalnim&nbsp; područjima,&nbsp; taksoni&nbsp; sa<br />najvećim&nbsp; brojem&nbsp; nalaza&nbsp; su&nbsp;<em> Xanthium&nbsp; strumarium</em>&nbsp; subsp.&nbsp; <em>italicum,&nbsp; Amorpha</em> <em>fruticosa, Erigeron&nbsp; canadensis,&nbsp; Robinia&nbsp; pseudoacacia&nbsp; i&nbsp; Echinochloa&nbsp; crus-galli.</em>&nbsp; Rečni&nbsp; slivovi Dunava,&nbsp; Južne&nbsp; Morave,&nbsp; Zapadne&nbsp; Morave&nbsp; i&nbsp; Timoka&nbsp; ističu&nbsp; se&nbsp; po&nbsp; zastupljenosti&nbsp; istraživanih taksona. Na osnovu podataka o distribuciji,&nbsp; brojnosti&nbsp; i&nbsp; pokrovnosti&nbsp; analiziranih&nbsp; taksona&nbsp; slivovi&nbsp; Dunava, Kolubare i Zapadne Morave izdvojili su se&nbsp; kao&nbsp; koridori&nbsp; širenja&nbsp; najvećeg&nbsp; broja<br />istraživanih&nbsp; taksona.&nbsp; Četiri&nbsp; tipa&nbsp; staništa&nbsp; izdvojila&nbsp; su&nbsp; se&nbsp; prema<br />zastupljenosti&nbsp; invazivnih&nbsp; biljnih&nbsp; vrsta.&nbsp; Taksoni koji su zabeleženi u najvećem broju&nbsp; tipova&nbsp; staništa&nbsp; su:&nbsp; <em>Amorpha&nbsp; fruticosa, Erigeron&nbsp; canadensis,&nbsp;</em> <em>Robinia&nbsp; pseudoacacia, Echinochloa crus-galli&nbsp;</em> i&nbsp; <em>Xanthium strumarium subsp</em>.&nbsp; <em>italicum.</em>&nbsp; Kao&nbsp; rezultat&nbsp; numeričkih&nbsp; analiza&nbsp; izdvojeni&nbsp; su&nbsp; fizički&nbsp; i<br />hidromorfološki parametri istraživanih&nbsp; vodotokova&nbsp; i&nbsp; dominantni&nbsp; antropogeni&nbsp; uticaji koji na istraživanom lokalitetima utiču&nbsp; na&nbsp; prisustvo&nbsp; i&nbsp; abundancu&nbsp; analiziranih&nbsp; taksona.&nbsp; U&nbsp; uslovima&nbsp; globalnih&nbsp; klimatskih&nbsp; promena&nbsp; može&nbsp; se&nbsp; očekivati da će se&nbsp; u narednom periodu pod snažnim&nbsp; pritiskom&nbsp; širenja&nbsp; i&nbsp; dominacije&nbsp; invazivnih vrsta naći slivovi Save, Velike Morave&nbsp; i&nbsp; Južne&nbsp; Morave.&nbsp; U&nbsp; riparijalnim oblastima na jugozapadu naše zemlje (doline Lima,&nbsp; Ibra&nbsp; i&nbsp; njihovih&nbsp; pritoka)&nbsp; kao&nbsp; i&nbsp; riparijalnim&nbsp; zonama&nbsp; planinskih&nbsp; i visokoplaninskih&nbsp; oblasti&nbsp; takođe&nbsp; je očekivano&nbsp; da&nbsp; će&nbsp; doći&nbsp; do&nbsp; povećanja&nbsp; broja prisutnih&nbsp; invazivnih&nbsp; vrsta&nbsp; i&nbsp; njihovog daljeg širenja.</p> / <p>Bearing&nbsp; in&nbsp; mind&nbsp; the&nbsp; significance&nbsp; of&nbsp; inland surface waters for the introduction and spread of invasive&nbsp; alien&nbsp; species&nbsp; (IAS),&nbsp; the&nbsp; aims&nbsp; of&nbsp; this research&nbsp; were&nbsp; to&nbsp; present&nbsp; the&nbsp; contemporary records&nbsp; of&nbsp; aquatic&nbsp; invasive&nbsp; plant&nbsp; species&nbsp; in surface&nbsp; waters,&nbsp; analyse&nbsp; the&nbsp; level&nbsp; of&nbsp; invasion&nbsp; of riparian&nbsp; areas&nbsp; in&nbsp; Serbia,&nbsp; determine&nbsp; the&nbsp; habitat preferences&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; analysed&nbsp; IAS&nbsp; and&nbsp; determine the effects of different habitat characteristics and anthropogenic&nbsp; influences&nbsp; on&nbsp; the&nbsp; presence&nbsp; and bundance&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; 26&nbsp; analysed&nbsp; invasive&nbsp; plants. Field&nbsp; research&nbsp; was&nbsp; conducted&nbsp; during&nbsp; the&nbsp; 2013-2016&nbsp; period.&nbsp; A&nbsp; total&nbsp; of&nbsp; 250&nbsp; field&nbsp; sites&nbsp; were analysed&nbsp; as&nbsp; part&nbsp; of&nbsp; this&nbsp; research,&nbsp; 217&nbsp; in&nbsp; the riparian zones of 39 rivers and 33 in the riparian zones&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; of&nbsp; six&nbsp; canal&nbsp; sections&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; hydrosystem Danube-Tisa-Danube&nbsp; (HS&nbsp; DTD).&nbsp; In&nbsp; addition&nbsp; to data on the cover and abundance of the analysed plant species, data on habitat type (following the EUNIS&nbsp; classification),&nbsp; relevant&nbsp; physical&nbsp; and hydromorhological&nbsp; parameters&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; studied watercourses&nbsp; and&nbsp; dominant&nbsp; anthropogenic influences an analysed field sites were recorded (following&nbsp; the&nbsp; standard&nbsp; RHS&nbsp; protocol). Statistical&nbsp; data&nbsp; analysis&nbsp; was&nbsp; done&nbsp; in&nbsp; CANOCO 5.0&nbsp;&nbsp; software,&nbsp; using&nbsp; the&nbsp; principal&nbsp; component analysis&nbsp; (PCA),&nbsp; canonical&nbsp; correspondence analysis (CCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA). Eight&nbsp; aquatic&nbsp; invasive&nbsp; plant&nbsp; species&nbsp; were recorded for the territory of Serbia. Species with the highest number of records were:&nbsp; Vallisneria spiralis,&nbsp; Azolla filiculoides&nbsp; and&nbsp; Elodea nuttallii. They&nbsp; are&nbsp; primarily&nbsp; present&nbsp; in&nbsp; running,&nbsp; in comparison&nbsp; with&nbsp; standing&nbsp; waters,&nbsp; and&nbsp; the&nbsp; canal network&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; HS&nbsp; DTD&nbsp; and&nbsp; rivers&nbsp; of&nbsp; the Danube catchment area are considered to be their main&nbsp; aquatic&nbsp; corridor&nbsp; of&nbsp; spread.&nbsp; Of&nbsp; the&nbsp; 26 invasive plant taxa whose presence&nbsp; was recorded and&nbsp; analysed&nbsp; in&nbsp; the&nbsp; riparian&nbsp; areas&nbsp; of&nbsp; Serbia,Xanthium strumarium&nbsp; subsp.&nbsp; italicum,&nbsp; Amorpha fruticosa,&nbsp; Erigeron&nbsp; canadensis,&nbsp; Robinia pseudoacacia&nbsp; and&nbsp; Echinochloa&nbsp; crus-&nbsp; galli&nbsp; were taxa&nbsp; with&nbsp; the&nbsp; highest&nbsp; number&nbsp; of&nbsp; records.Catchment&nbsp; areas&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; Danube,&nbsp; Južna&nbsp; Morava, Zapadna&nbsp; Morava&nbsp; and&nbsp; Timok&nbsp; rivers&nbsp; were characterised&nbsp; by&nbsp; the&nbsp; highest&nbsp; levels&nbsp; of&nbsp; invasion. Based&nbsp; on&nbsp; their&nbsp; distribution&nbsp; data,&nbsp; cover&nbsp; and abundance of the analysed taxa, catchment areas of&nbsp; the&nbsp; Danube,&nbsp; Kolubara&nbsp; and&nbsp; Zapadna&nbsp; Morava rivers&nbsp; are&nbsp; highlighted&nbsp; as&nbsp; the&nbsp; main&nbsp; corridors&nbsp; of spread for the majority of the studied IAS. Four habitat&nbsp; types&nbsp; stand&nbsp; out&nbsp; by&nbsp; the&nbsp; number&nbsp; of analysed IAS. Taxa which were recorded in the highest&nbsp; number&nbsp; of&nbsp; habitat&nbsp; types&nbsp; are:&nbsp; Amorpha fruticosa,&nbsp; Erigeron&nbsp; canadensis,&nbsp; Robinia pseudoacacia,&nbsp; Echinochloa&nbsp; crus-galli&nbsp; and Xanthium strumarium subsp. italicum.&nbsp; A number of&nbsp; physical&nbsp; and&nbsp; hydromorphological&nbsp; parameters and&nbsp; dominant&nbsp; anthropogenic&nbsp; influences&nbsp; of&nbsp; the studied&nbsp; field&nbsp; sites&nbsp; were&nbsp; shown&nbsp; to&nbsp; affect&nbsp; the presence&nbsp; and&nbsp; abundance&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; studied&nbsp; invasive plants.&nbsp; The catchment areas of the Sava, Velika Morava&nbsp; and&nbsp; Južna&nbsp; Morava&nbsp; rivers&nbsp; are&nbsp; excpected to&nbsp; be&nbsp; under&nbsp; a&nbsp; strong&nbsp; pressure&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; spread&nbsp; and dominance&nbsp; of&nbsp; IAS&nbsp; unnder&nbsp; the&nbsp; conditions&nbsp; of global&nbsp; climate&nbsp; changes.&nbsp; Riparian&nbsp; areas&nbsp; in&nbsp; the southwestern parts of Serbia (valleys of&nbsp; Lim and Ibar&nbsp; rivers&nbsp; and&nbsp; their&nbsp; tributaries)&nbsp; and&nbsp; riparian zones&nbsp; in&nbsp; the&nbsp; mountain&nbsp; and&nbsp; high- mountain&nbsp; areas are also expected to experience an increase in the number&nbsp; of&nbsp; invasive&nbsp; species&nbsp; and&nbsp; their&nbsp; spread rates.</p>

MESMEG / Department of Ecology and Resource Management / Invasive alien plants refer to plant species that show a tendency to escape from human control, go beyond the intended physical boundaries and cause environmental damage. The issue of letting the Invasive alien plant species grow and spread, with no attempts made to control the spread of the species beyond the limits of plantations, is not sustainable. All the attempted methods that the Department of Environmental Affairs used seemed to have failed in yielding the expected results. The main objective of the study was to determine the Wolkberg Working for Water programme’s level of success in terms of clearing invasive alien plant species. Wolkberg Project was used as a case study as it is one of the Working for Water Programme. The data were collected using random sampling methods on the worked areas, where work is in progress and those where no work has been done. Primary data were collected from land owners through field observations and questionnaires from the participants whilst secondary data were collected from the Department of Environmental Affairs. The study adopted a mixed methods approach which is both quantitative and qualitative. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) package. The research determined the level of success in terms of clearing invasive alien plant species, employment opportunities, tools/materials that have been used to clear the plants and the advice on the possible strategies that can be employed in the invasive alien plant species management. It was found out that the Invasive alien plant species require constant maintenance in order for them to be controlled. The Wolkberg project is mainly dominated by male workers compared to females. Each team comprised 3% underage workers. The study recommends that the project should make sure that the follow-ups are done at the correct time and stage. Looking at the statistics of males and females, the study revealed that transformation is not adhered to in this project. / NRF

MSc (Botany) / Department of Botany / Invasive alien plants (IAPs) are non-native species that have spread beyond the introduction site; become abundant to an extent that they serve as agents of change that also threaten native biological diversity (Garcia-Berthou, 2007). IAPs have medicinal applications for the treatment of various aliments in humans (Jäger et al., 1996). In this study, an ethnomedicinal survey was conducted on medicinal uses of invasive alien plant species in order to identify and investigate the various disease treatment methods employed by Bapedi traditional health practitioners within Capricorn District. Six traditional health practitioners were randomly selected, via the snowball method from each of the five local municipalities namely: Aganang, Blouberg, Lepelle-Nkupi, Molomole and Polokwane. The whole survey included 30 traditional health practitioners. A semi structured questionnaire was administered to document information about the medicinal uses of IAPs from participants. The collected data from the questionnaire was captured in Microsoft Excel 2010 and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study recorded 22 IAPs belonging to 14 plant families. Records or data collected show invasive alien plants species to have been used for treatment of different alignments amongst Bapedi traditional health practitioners. Plant families with the most recorded species include: Solanaceae and Myrtaceae with 18.2% for both of them. The plant parts most frequently used in descending order were as follows: roots vii (40%), followed by the leaves (39%), fruits (7%), thorns (6%), bark (4%), seeds (2%) and lastly stems (2%). Decoction was recorded as the most dominant method used during medicinal preparations (n = 176) and flu was recorded as the most treated ailment amongst traditional health practitioners (n = 29). Apart from clearing IAPs as part of management strategy by South African government, there are other alternative innovative ways that can be employed to ensure that the number of IAPs introduced does not exceed beyond measure.This could be achieved by encouraging local people to use them as either medicinal sources or by incorporating them into any other local ethnobotanical use. The new innovative ways (such as traditional health practitioners utilizing the IAPs instead of endangered plants or indigenous plants species) can bring in some form of relief to the already declining indigenous species populations. Research scholars from different research institutes and higher education research centres can regard IAPs used medicinally as source of new pharmaceutical leads to create new medications. With such attention turned to alien invasive species, their survival as well as their spread will be kept on check at the same time creating a control measure to their spread with little effort. Further laboratory-based studies are needed to determine efficiency and safety of the IAPs used by traditional health practitioners in this study. / NRF