Why Are Invasive Plants Successful?

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Environmental Science
• Botany

Background:

• Globalization drives increasing plant invasions worldwide, posing significant ecological and economic threats.
• Understanding invasion success requires integrating multiple drivers and context-specific factors.
• Current research often focuses on biogeographical patterns, necessitating a community-level perspective.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review community-level frameworks for understanding plant invasion success in terrestrial systems.
• To explore the roles of intrinsic plant traits, biotic, and abiotic conditions in invasion dynamics.
• To examine the influence of human-induced changes on current and future plant invasions.

Main Methods:

• Literature review focusing on community ecology and invasion biology.
• Synthesis of existing hypotheses and theories on invasion drivers.
• Analysis of factors influencing species invasiveness and ecosystem invasibility.

Main Results:

• Intrinsic plant properties significantly determine species invasiveness.
• Biotic and abiotic ecosystem conditions mediate invasibility and resistance.
• Human-induced environmental changes are fundamental drivers of plant invasions across scales.

Conclusions:

• A community-level perspective is crucial for predicting plant invasion success.
• Integrating plant traits with ecosystem properties and anthropogenic impacts offers robust explanations.
• Future invasion trajectories will be shaped by ongoing and future human-induced environmental changes.