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Why are some plant genera more invasive than others?
John Paul Schmidt1, John M Drake
1Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America. jps@uga.edu
Plos One
|April 16, 2011
Summary
Understanding invasive plant species is crucial for management. This study identified key biological traits, like wetland affinity and seed mass, that predict which plant genera are more likely to become invasive pests.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Population Biology
- Invasive Species Management
Background:
- Identifying traits predicting invasive potential in plants is vital for effective management.
- Little is known about why certain plant taxonomic groups are more prone to becoming pests than others.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate biological traits that differentiate vascular plant genera based on their proportion of pest species.
- To inform risk assessment and screening strategies for invasive plants at the genus level.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of vascular plant genera in the United States and Canada.
- Identification of genera disproportionately represented by weed or noxious species using contingency tables.
- Boosted regression tree analyses to determine the influence of biological covariates on pest species proportion.
Main Results:
- Eleven vascular plant genera were identified as disproportionately represented by invasive species.
- Approximately 25% of the variation in genus proportions of weeds or noxious species was explained by biological factors.
- Key explanatory traits included genus means for wetland habitat affinity, chromosome number, and seed mass.
Conclusions:
- Biological differences, including habitat preference and reproductive traits, distinguish plant genera prone to invasiveness.
- These findings can aid in developing more effective regulatory screening and risk assessment for invasive plants.
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