Similarity of introduced plant species to native ones facilitates naturalization, but differences enhance invasion success

Authors

Jan Divíšek, Masaryk University
Milan Chytrý, Masaryk University
Brian Beckage, University of Vermont
Nicholas J. Gotelli, University of Vermont
Zdeňka Lososová, Masaryk University
Petr Pyšek, Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
David M. Richardson, Stellenbosch University
Jane Molofsky, University of Vermont

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2018

Abstract

The search for traits associated with plant invasiveness has yielded contradictory results, in part because most previous studies have failed to recognize that different traits are important at different stages along the introduction–naturalization–invasion continuum. Here we show that across six different habitat types in temperate Central Europe, naturalized non-invasive species are functionally similar to native species occurring in the same habitat type, but invasive species are different as they occupy the edge of the plant functional trait space represented in each habitat. This pattern was driven mainly by the greater average height of invasive species. These results suggest that the primary determinant of successful establishment of alien species in resident plant communities is environmental filtering, which is expressed in similar trait distributions. However, to become invasive, established alien species need to be different enough to occupy novel niche space, i.e. the edge of trait space.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Rights Information

© 2018, The Author(s).

Recommended Citation

Divíšek J, Chytrý M, Beckage B, Gotelli NJ, Lososová Z, Pyšek P, Richardson DM, Molofsky J. Similarity of introduced plant species to native ones facilitates naturalization, but differences enhance invasion success. Nature communications. 2018 Nov 6;9(1):1-0.

DOI

10.1038/s41467-018-06995-4