Cultivated alien plants with high invasion potential are more likely to be traded online in China

Abstract

Biological invasions have become a worldwide problem, and measures to efficiently prevent and control invasions are still in development. Like many other parts of the world, China is undergoing a dramatic increase in plant invasions. Most of the currently 933 established (i.e., naturalized) plant species, of which 214 are categorized as invasive, have been introduced into China for cultivation. It is likely that many of those species are still being traded, particularly online, by plant nurseries. However, studies assessing whether naturalized and invasive species are currently being traded more or less than nonnaturalized aliens are rare. We extracted online‐trade information for 13,718 cultivated alien plant taxa on 1688.com, the largest website for domestic B2B in China. We analyzed how the presence in online‐nursery catalogs, the number of online nurseries that offerred the species for sale, and the product type (i.e., seeds, live plants and vegetative organs) differed among nonnaturalized, naturalized noninvasive, and invasive species. Compared to nonnaturalized taxa, naturalized noninvasive and invasive taxa were 3.7–5.2 times more likely to be available for purchase. Naturalized noninvasive and invasive taxa were more frequently offered as seeds by online nurseries, whereas nonnaturalized taxa were more frequently offered as live plants. Based on these findings, we propose that, to reduce the further spread of invasive and potentially invasive plants, implementation of plant‐trade regulations and a monitoring system of the online horticultural supply chain will be essential.

World Spread of Tropical Soda Apple (Solanum viarum) under Global Change: Historical Reconstruction, Niche Shift, and Potential Geographic Distribution

“…Global plant trade networks emerged in the 18th and 19th centuries when alien plants began to appear frequently in non–native wild areas, particularly in the 19th century [ 48 ]. Increased trade in species, the complexity of trade networks, improved long–distance connectivity, and new trade patterns contributed to S. viarum invasion [ 49 ]. As a major source of pharmaceutical compounds (especially solasodine), S. viarum established colonies along trade routes and rapidly expanded during this phase.…”

Naturalization of introduced plants is driven by life‐form‐dependent cultivation biases

“…In line with the latter, we found that, at least for long‐lived herbaceous and woody species, online‐nursery availability was positively related to economic use. Previous studies have pointed out the importance of the offline plant‐nursery‐supply chain as the driver of plant naturalization and invasiveness (Beaury et al., 2021; Hulme et al., 2018; Pemberton & Liu, 2009), but the role of online plant nurseries has been rarely considered (Dong et al., 2023; Humair et al., 2015). Because the online trade in plants started only a few decades ago, it cannot be a cause of plant invasions that happened half a century ago.…”

Perspectives of invasive alien species management in China

“…These species, frequently traded online, continue to increase invasion risks. Through a synthesis evaluation, Dong et al (2023) found that naturalized noninvasive and invasive plant taxa were more likely to be available for purchase. The implementation of stringent plant trading regulations and monitoring of online horticulture supply chains is urgently needed to mitigate the further spread of these invasive species.…”