Histoire humaine et naturelle d’une invasion biologique

Abstract

Invasive species often settle in specific socio-ecological systems, in which the role of human is central. Our study aims to bring a new perspective on a plant declared as a major invasive, gorse, Ulex europaeus, incorporating human factors and the social context in the analysis of each stage of the invasion process. Gorse was highly valued in its area of origin, Europe, which has led to its voluntary introduction in many European colonies to the 19th century. It is now considered invasive in more than 30 countries and on all continents. The site chosen is the island of Reunion, whose characteristics make it a laboratory for the study: the space is circumscribed, human presence is recent, and archives are available on almost the entire history of colonization. The collected materials are composed of archive extracts, bibliographic documents, semi-structured interviews, maps, and biological data. They were systematically analyzed by time and space. The spatiotemporal dynamics of gorse has been finely traced since its introduction, in conjunction with the ecology of the plant, the characteristics of natural environments, and successive changes in policies and economic status of spaces occupied by the plant. The biological invasion gorse appears as the result of complex processes binder in a seamless web interaction between introduced species and natural environment and the history of social, economic and cultural relationships that humans have with their environment.

Keywords

• Historical ecology
• Ulex europaeus
• Reunion Island
• Invasive process