Alien invasive plants are capable of modifying ecosystem function. However, it is difficult to make generalisations because impacts often appear to be species-and site-specific. In this study, we examined the impacts of seven highly invasive plant species in NW Europe (Fallopia japonica, Heracleum mantegazzianum, Impatiens glandulifera, Prunus serotina, Rosa rugosa, Senecio inaequidens, Solidago gigantea) on nutrient pools in the topsoil and the standing biomass. We tested if the impacts follow predictable patterns, across species and sites or, alternatively, if they are entirely idiosyncratic. To that end, we compared invaded and adjacent uninvaded plots in a total of 36 sites with widely divergent soil chemistry and vegetation composition. For all species, invaded plots had increased aboveground biomass and nutrient stocks in standing biomass compared to uninvaded vegetation. This suggests that enhanced nutrient uptake may be a key trait of highly invasive plant species. The magnitude and direction of the impact on topsoil chemical properties were strongly site-specific. A striking inding is that the direction of change in soil properties followed a predictable pattern. Thus, strong positive impacts (higher topsoil nutrient concentrations in invaded plots compared to uninvaded ones) were most often found in sites with initially low nutrient concentrations in the topsoil, while negative impacts were generally found under the opposite conditions. This pattern was significant for potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese and nitrogen. The particular site-specific pattern in the impacts that we observed provides the first evidence that alien invasive species may contribute to a homogenisation of soil conditions in invaded landscapes.

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In recent decades, a growing number of studies have addressed connections between ecological and evolutionary concepts in biologic invasions. These connections may be crucial for understanding the processes underlying invaders’ success. However, the extent to which scientists have worked on the integration of the ecology and evolution of invasive plants is poorly documented, as few attempts have been made to evaluate these efforts in invasion biology research. Such analysis can facilitate recognize well-documented relationships and identify gaps in our knowledge. In this study, we used a network-based method for visualizing the connections between major aspects of ecology and evolution in the primary research literature. Using the family Poaceae as an example, we show that ecological concepts were more studied and better interconnected than were evolutionary concepts. Several possible connections were not documented at all, representing knowledge gaps between ecology and evolution of invaders. Among knowledge gaps, the concepts of plasticity, gene flow, epigenetics and human influence were particularly under-connected. We discuss five possible research avenues to better understand the relationships between ecology and evolution in the success of Poaceae, and of alien plants in general.

We compared herbivory pressure in the native Jacobaea vulgaris (formely Senecio jacobaea) and the alien invasive S. inaequidens in sites where they co-occur in Belgium. We predicted that the alien species experiences relaxed herbivory pressure by specialist herbivores (enemy release hypothesis ERH) whereas it is still attacked by generalist herbivores. Impacts of two generalist (gastropods and rabbits) and one specialist (the caterpillar Tyria jacobaeae) herbivores were assessed with field observations and exclusion experiments. The generalist herbivores had a higher impact on the biomass and survival of the seedlings of the alien S. inaequidens than on the native J. vulgaris. On the contrary, the specialist Tyria jacobaeae attacked exclusively the adults of the native species, supporting one of the main predictions of the ERH. These results are discussed in relation to differences in pyrrolizidine alkaloid profiles between the two species.