Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 2, 2026
08:16
Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity
Published on: March 13, 2014
Are plants really larger in their introduced ranges?
1Natural Environment Research Council Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College at Silwood Park, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, United Kingdom.
The American Naturalist
|August 19, 2008
Summary
The common "rule" that invasive plants grow larger in new environments is not supported by evidence. Detailed comparisons show native ranges often yield larger plant sizes, challenging biological control assumptions.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Botany
Background:
- The widely accepted
- Invasive species
- Plant ecology
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the widely held assumption that nonindigenous plant species grow larger in introduced ranges compared to their native ranges.
- To compare the sizes of European plant species in California and the Carolinas with their sizes in Europe.
- To compare the sizes of plant species from California and the Carolinas in Europe with their sizes in their native regions.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of plant sizes between native and introduced ranges.
- Statistical evaluation of height differences for European species in California/Carolinas versus Europe.
- Statistical evaluation of height differences for California/Carolinas species in Europe versus their native ranges.
Main Results:
- No general tendency for nonindigenous plant species to be larger in introduced ranges.
- California species were, on average, taller in California than in Europe.
- European species showed no significant height difference between Europe and California, or were taller in Europe.
Conclusions:
- The hypothesis that invasive plants are consistently larger in introduced ranges is not supported by this study.
- The absence of natural enemies is a possible but not universal explanation for size differences.
- Findings cast doubt on biological control strategies relying on sequential introduction of natural enemies to reduce plant size and competitiveness.
Related Concept Videos
02:22Introduction to Plant Diversity
From Water to Land
02:16Light Acquisition
In order to produce glucose, plants need to capture sufficient light energy. Many modern plants have evolved leaves specialized for light acquisition. Leaves can be only millimeters in width or tens of meters wide, depending on the environment. Due to competition for sunlight, evolution has driven the evolution of increasingly larger leaves and taller plants, to avoid shading by their neighbors with contaminant elaboration of root architecture and mechanisms to transport water and nutrients.
03:40Introduction to Seed Plants
Most plants are seed plants—characterized by seeds, pollen, and reduced gametophytes. Seed plants include gymnosperms and angiosperms.
02:26Non-vascular Seedless Plants
The diverse plant life on Earth—consisting of nearly 400,000 species—can be divided into three broad categories based on biological characteristics: nonvascular, seedless vascular, and seed plants.
02:36Meristems and Plant Growth
Plants grow throughout their lives; this is called indeterminate growth, and it distinguishes plants from most animals. Although certain parts of plants stop growing (e.g., leaves and flowers), others grow continuously—like roots and stems.
02:40Epiphytes, Parasites, and Carnivores
Plants often form mutualistic relationships with soil-dwelling fungi or bacteria to enhance their roots’ nutrient uptake ability. Root-colonizing fungi (e.g., mycorrhizae) increase a plant’s root surface area, which promotes nutrient absorption. While root-colonizing, nitrogen-fixing bacteria (e.g., rhizobia) convert atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into ammonia (NH3), making nitrogen available to plants for various biological functions. For example, nitrogen is essential for the biosynthesis of the...