Achyut Kumar Banerjee
Areas of Interest & Expertise
- Plant Ecology
- Biological Invasion
- Spatial Ecology and Conservation Modelling
- Historical, Ecological and Conservation Biogeography
- Community and Ecosystem Ecology
Biography
Achyut Kumar Banerjee is a plant ecologist with Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Botany from the University of Calcutta, Kolkata.
He works in the domain of Biological Invasion, one of the main components of global change. He wants to understand the dynamics of the invasion process, starting from the introduction of an organism into a new environment to its ability to cross different barriers to become an invasive species. In this pursuit, his interdisciplinary research approach has two major components:
- For his PhD at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI, Kolkata), he conducted field and controlled experiments to characterise the ecophysiology of an invasive species of global concern and the dynamics of the invaded community.
- His Postdoctoral work at the Sun Yat-sen University in China focused on assessing the invasion risk of multiple species at a global scale. These studies used large databases, geospatial technologies, and an ensembled predictive modelling framework.
Achyut has also conceptualised and collaboratively produced a novel database having the ecological and socio-economic attributes of the alien flora in India, called the Indian Alien Flora Information Database (ILORA). In line with the interest of his Postdoctoral Research group, Achyut has also worked on the Phylogeography of several mangrove species distributed in the Indo-West Pacific region.
All his studies are focused on countries of the Global South and provide practical and easy-to-implement – a) management measures for the invasive species and b) conservation insights for the threatened mangrove taxa.
Achyut loves reading books (with a bias for historical nonfiction) and capturing the natural world (with a bias for flower and macro photographic genres). He has recently started writing the stories (in Bengali) that his photos want to share.
Publications
Chapter in Edited Book
- Banerjee, A.K., & Sankaran, K.V. (2023). An Action Plan to Prevent and Manage Alien Plant Invasions in India. In Plant Invasions and Global Climate Change (pp. 397 – 418). Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978 – 981-99 – 5910-5_17
Journal Articles
- Banerjee, A.K., Lee, T.M., Feng, H., Liang, X., Lin, Y., Wang, J., Yin, M., Peng, H., & Huang, Y. (2023). Implications for biological invasion of non-native plants for sale in the world’s largest online market. Conservation Biology, e14055. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14055
- Banerjee, A.K., Tan, F., Feng, H., Liang, X., Lin, Y., Wang, J., Zhang, N., & Huang, Y. (2023). Invasive alien plants are phylogenetically different from non-invasives across spatial and taxonomic scales in China. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, 1075344. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1075344/full
- Banerjee, A.K., & Huang, Y. (2023). How science communications can help build societal perceptions of the invasive alien species and their impacts on the environment. Environmental Conservation, 50(3), 156 – 162. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892923000103
- Banerjee, A.K., Wang, J., Feng, H., Lin, Y., Liang, X., Yin, M., Peng, H., Li, W., Li, T., Guo, W., & Huang, Y. (2023). Conservation and sustainable development of coastal species of horticultural importance: insights from genetic and environmental patterns at spatio-temporal scale. Biodiversity and Conservation, 32, 2301 – 2321. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-023 – 02605‑y
- Prajapati, J., Singh, A., Patil, K., Bhowmick, A.R., Mukherjee, A., Huang, Y., & Banerjee, A.K. (2022). An occurrence data set for invasive and naturalized alien plants in India. Ecology, e3794. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3794
- Banerjee, A.K., Feng, H., Guo, W., Xie, H., Hou, Z., Xing, F., Lin, Y., Cui, X., Guo, Z., & Huang, Y. (2022). Glacial vicariance and oceanic circulation shape population structure of the coastal legume Derris trifoliata in the Indo‐West Pacific. American Journal of Botany, 109, 1016 – 1034. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1851
- Banerjee, A.K., Liang, X., Harms, N.E., Tan, F., Lin, Y., Feng, H., Wang, J., Li, Q., Jia, Y., Liu, Y., Cao, R., Lin, C., & Huang, Y. (2022). Spatio-temporal pattern of cross-continental invasion: Evidence of climatic niche shift and predicted range expansion provide management insights for smooth cordgrass. Ecological Indicators, 140, 109052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109052
- Banerjee, A.K., Feng, H., Lin, Y., Hou, Z., Li, W., Shao, H., Luo, Z., Guo, W., & Huang, Y. (2022). Phylogeographic pattern of a cryptoviviparous mangrove, Aegiceras corniculatum, in the Indo-West Pacific, provides insights for conservation actions. Planta, 255, 7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-021 – 03798‑8
- Banerjee, A.K., Feng, H., Lin, Y., Liang, X., Wang, J., & Huang, Y. (2021). Setting the priorities straight — Species distribution models assist to prioritize conservation targets for the mangroves. Science of the Total Environment, 806, 150937. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150937
- Pant, V., Patwardhan, C., Patil, K., Bhowmick, A.R., Mukherjee, A., & Banerjee, A.K. (2021). ILORA: A database of alien vascular flora of India. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 2, e12105. https://doi.org/10.1002/2688 – 8319.12105
- Banerjee, A.K., Prajapati, J., Bhowmick, A.R., Huang. Y., & Mukherjee, A. (2021). Different factors influence naturalization and invasion processes – A case study of Indian alien flora provides management insights. Journal of Environmental Management, 294, 113054. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113054
- Banerjee, A.K., Khuroo, A.A., Dehnen-Schmutz, K., Pant, V., Patwardhan, C., Bhowmick, A.R., & Mukherjee, A. (2021). An integrated policy framework and plan of action to prevent and control plant invasions in India. Environmental Science and Policy, 124, 64 – 72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2021.06.003
- Banerjee, A.K., Wu, H., Guo, W., Ng, W., Li, W., Ma, Y., Feng, H., & Huang, Y. (2021). Deciphering the global phylogeography of a coastal shrub (Scaevola taccada) reveals the influence of multiple forces on contemporary population structure. Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 60(4), 809 – 823. https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.12746
- Banerjee, A.K., Hou, Z., Lin, Y., Lan, W., Tan, F., Xing, F., Li, G., Guo, W., & Huang, Y. (2020). Going with the flow: analysis of population structure revealed high gene flow shaping invasion pattern and inducing range expansion of Mikania micrantha in Asia. Annals of Botany, 125:1113 – 1126. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcaa044
- Banerjee, A.K., Guo, W., Qiao, S., Li, W., Xing, F., Lin, Y., Hou, Z., Li, S., Liu, Y., & Huang, Y. (2020). Land masses and oceanic currents drive population structure of Heritiera littoralis, a widespread mangrove in the Indo-West Pacific. Ecology and Evolution, 10, 7349 – 7363. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6460
- Banerjee, A.K., Harms, N.E., Mukherjee, A., & Gaskin, J.F. (2020). Niche dynamics and potential distribution of an aquatic invasive plant, Butomus umbellatus (Flowering rush), under current and future climate scenarios in North America. Hydrobiologia, 847, 1505 – 1520. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-020 – 04205‑1
- Banerjee, A.K., Mukherjee, A., Guo, W., Ng, W.L, & Huang, Y. (2019). Combining ecological niche modeling with genetic lineage information to predict potential distribution of Mikania micrantha Kunth in South and Southeast Asia under predicted climate change. Global Ecology and Conservation, 20, e00800. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00800
- Banerjee, A.K., Guo, W., & Huang, Y. (2019). Genetic and epigenetic regulation of phenotypic variation in invasive plants – linking research trends towards a unified framework. NeoBiota, 49, 77 – 103. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.49.33723
- Banerjee, A.K., Mukherjee, A., Guo, W., Liu, Y., & Huang, Y. (2019). Spatio-temporal patterns of climatic niche dynamics of an invasive plant Mikania micrantha Kunth and its potential distribution under projected climate change. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 291 https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00291
- Banerjee, A.K., Medda, C., Bhattacharya, S., & Dewanji, A. (2018). What matters most — role of environment, arrival order and population fitness in invaded community assembly. Acta Oecologica, 93, 56 – 64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2018.10.006
- Banerjee, A.K., Mukherjee, A., & Dewanji, A. (2017). Potential distribution of Mikania micrantha Kunth in India – evidence of climatic niche and biome shifts. Flora, 234, 215 – 223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2017.08.001
- Banerjee, A.K., & Dewanji, A. (2017). Native exotic relationships in plant communities: the role of exotic dominance in framing community composition. Ecological Research, 32, 5. 653 – 665. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-017‑1476‑x
- Banerjee, A.K., & Dewanji, A. (2017). Role of intraspecific trait plasticity on Mikania micrantha Kunth growth and impact of its abundance on community composition. Journal of Asia Pacific Biodiversity, 10, 237 – 249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2017.04.003
- Banerjee, A.K., Ghosh, S., & Dewanji, A. (2017). Do plants have a choice of traits to be modulated? Evidence from an invasive plant Mikania micrantha Kunth in different urban environments. American Journal of Plant Science, 8, 835 – 855. https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=75018
- Banerjee, A.K., Reddy, C.S., & Dewanji, A. (2017). Impact assessment on floral composition and spread potential of Mikania micrantha H.B.K. in an urban scenario. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences, 87, 777 – 788. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-015‑0650‑6
The complete list of journal publications is available here.
Conference Paper
- Banerjee, A.K., & Dewanji, A. (2012). Mikania micrantha H.B.K. — a potential and economical threat to global biodiversity with special emphasis on Indian context. In: V. Eldershaw (Ed.), Proceedings of the 18th Australasian Weeds Conference (pp. 17 – 20). Weed Society of Victoria Inc.
Magazine Articles
- Banerjee, A.K. (2022, March 7). Coordination and action would protect India from pests. 360info. https://360info.org/coordination-and-action-would-protect-india-from-pests/
- Banerjee, A.K. (2021, November 16). A database of Indian alien vascular flora. Applied Ecologist. https://appliedecologistsblog.com/2021/11/16/a‑database-of-indian-alien-vascular-flora/
- Banerjee, A.K. (2021, August 4). Alien invasives in India – we know the problem for long, but are we doing enough to solve it? Mongabay India. https://india.mongabay.com/2021/08/commentary-we-know-the-problem-of-alien-invasive-species-but-are-we-doing-enough-to-solve-it/