How Thryve is Tackling the Invasive Species Crisis in a Project Area in Tamil Nadu?

Across the Indian subcontinent, open and fallow agricultural lands are slowly being engulfed by a wave of aggressive invasive species. These plants are tough and fast-growing, reshaping ecosystems once rich in native biodiversity. As traditional land management practices decline and more land lies fallow, their spread is accelerated. If left unchecked for long durations, they can degrade soil quality, outcompete indigenous flora, and reduce the land’s potential for future cultivation or restoration. 

What looks like wild and lush greenery is, in reality, an ecological takeover with long-term consequences. 

Why We’re Focusing on Tamil Nadu’s Changing Landscapes

Once productive farmland is slipping quietly into disuse in Tamil Nadu. Agricultural plots that sustained livelihoods for generations are now lying fallow, soil exposed, fertility diminishing, and are unsuitable for cultivation, This shift is driven by a complex mix of environmental and socio-economic pressures erratic rainfall, declining soil health, uneconomical agriculture returns, inadequate irrigation and water supply, silting of canals and rivers, shrinking and fragmented farm holdings, poor market access, and uneconomical returns.  

Satellite-based assessments using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) reveal the extent of fallow land in the state. As of 2020–2021, current fallow land in Tamil Nadu is approximately 22.53 lakh hectares (nearly 15 % of the state’s geographical area), while permanently fallow land is around 10.86 lakh hectares (around 8-9 % of the area).

The Growing Impact of Invasive Species on Local Ecosystems

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Prosopos juliflora, locally known as Seemai Karuvelam in Tamil, is a hardy, drought-tolerant shrub or small tree that has taken root across India’s dry and semi-arid landscapes. Introduced decades ago, it has since spread extensively in South India. While resilient, its aggressive growth patterns displace native species, alter soil conditions, and disrupt both natural ecosystems and cultivated lands, making it one of the most significant ecological challenges facing the region’s biodiversity today. 

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‍‍‍Senna spectabilis and Lantana camara are transforming landscapes across South India and especially in Tamil Nadu. Once introduced for timber, fuel, or ornamental value, these hardy species now dominate fallow fields, grasslands, and even forest understories, displacing native plants, altering soil and water cycles, and reducing forage for wildlife. Their spread is often accelerated by degraded soils, fragmented habitats, and shifts in local water availability. In some cases, communities have adapted to their presence, harvesting Lantana for furniture or Prosopis for fuelwood, but without targeted removal and habitat restoration, these ecosystems risk long-term ecological decline.

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The major invasive species in the project area are:

• Prosopis juliflora
• Senna spectabilis
• Parthenium hysterophorus 
• Lantana camara
• Acacia mearnsii
• Chromolena odorata
• Pteridium aquilinum
• Hyptis suaveolens 

Our Approach to Restoring Invasive-Dominated Lands

At Thryve, removing invasive species is the first step in a long-term restoration process. Mechanical uprooting and targeted removal are undertaken with precision to minimise soil disturbance and prevent regrowth. These efforts are timed to seasonal windows when removal is most effective and least disruptive to surrounding biodiversity.

Once invasives are cleared, the land is not left barren. We work with farmers and local communities to reintroduce a mix of ecologically appropriate and economically viable species, often including nitrogen-fixing trees, native timber and fruit species, and other plants that improve soil structure, enhance water retention, and provide sustainable yields. This approach not only restores the land’s productive potential but also rebuilds ecological resilience.

Our interventions extend beyond planting. We support soil remediation through organic amendments, establish protective buffer zones to limit the re-entry of invasives, and deploy continuous monitoring, often using satellite imagery and ground surveys, to ensure restoration success. 

Restoring landscapes overrun by invasives is about giving the land a chance to heal, and the communities that depend on it, a reason to hope. With each uprooted shrub and each native sapling planted, we are rewriting the future of these fields. It’s work, measured in seasons and decades, but the reward is enduring: ecosystems where biodiversity thrives, soils breathe again, and livelihoods grow alongside nature. 

Where green once hid the slow collapse of the land, it can now stand as a true sign of renewal.

Explore our India project to see how targeted removal, native replanting, and long-term stewardship are restoring degraded land into thriving ecosystems.