Predicting invasiveness of exotic woody species using a traits‐based framework

Abstract

Identifying potentially invasive species and preventing their introduction and establishment are of critical importance in invasion ecology and land management. Although an extensive body of research has been dedicated to identifying traits that confer invasiveness, our current knowledge is still often inconclusive due to limitations in geographic extent and/or scope of traits analyzed. Here, using a comprehensive set of 45 traits, we performed a case study of invasive traits displayed by exotic woody plants in the United States (U.S.) by comparing 63 invasive and 794 non-invasive exotic woody plant species naturalized across the country. We found that invasive woody species often bear the following two key traits: vegetative reproduction and long-distance seed dispersal (via water, birds or mammals). Boosted classification tree models based on these traits accurately predicted species invasiveness (86% accuracy on average). Presented findings provide a generalized understanding of the relative importance of functional traits in identifying potentially invasive woody species in the U.S. The knowledge generated in this study can be used to improve current classification systems of non-native woody plants used by various U.S. governmental agencies and land managers.

Keragaman dan Pengendalian Tumbuhan Invasif di KHDTK Samboja, Kalimantan Timur (Diversity and Management of Invasive Plants in Samboja Research Forest, Kalimantan Timur)

“…Kegiatan pengendalian jangka panjang pertama adalah melakukan Penilaian Resiko Tumbuhan Invasive (Invasive Plant Risk Assessment/IPSRA). Terdapat beberapa metode penilaian yang telah dikembangkan dalam pengendalian jenis invasif yang dapat diaplikasikan secara langsung maupun diadaptasikan sesuai kondisi di lapangan (Conser et al 2015;Nackley et al 2017;Nunez-Mir et al 2019). Proses penilaian dapat dilakukan bersamaan dengan kegiatan jangka pendek untuk mendukung proses pengendalian berbasiskan perencanaan dan evaluasi yang baik.…”

Global patterns of rainfall partitioning by invasive woody plants

“…Hundreds of woody plant species have been introduced out of their natural distribution ranges for multiple purposes, such as forestry, food and ornamental uses; and a group of them have become invasive, altering ecosystem stability and functioning (Ehrenfeld, 2010;Richardson & Rejmánek, 2011;Vilà & Hulme, 2017). A myriad of studies have described how morphological and functional attributes are related to plant invasions (Gross et al, 2013;Nunez-Mir et al, 2019;Van Kleunen et al, 2010), but fewer have assessed their ability to distribute rainwater in the ecosystem in general and towards the root zone in particular (Cavaleri & Sack, 2010;Sadeghi et al, 2017).…”

Origen, historia natural y usos de las plantas introducidas en Costa Rica

“…Algunos investigadores han demostrado que el potencial invasor de ciertas plantas puede predecirse con base en el estudio comparativo de caracteres biológicos simples (ejs., período inmaduro corto, intervalo corto entre grandes cosechas de semillas pequeñas), que permiten una reproducción rápida y constante. Estas especies se dispersan exitosamente, tienen semillas que al madurar germinan abundantemente, o su período de reposo es breve, y el crecimiento de las plántulas es rápido, igual que el crecimiento poblacional (Rejmánek & Richardson, 1996;Nunez-Mir, Guo, Rejmánek, Iannone, & Fei, 2019).…”

“…Muchas plantas invasoras son hierbas; no obstante, ciertas plantas leñosas también pueden volverse invasoras y tener un impacto considerable. Nunez-Mir et al (2019) observaron que las especies leñosas invasoras a menudo se reproducen vegetativamente y dispersan las semillas a largas distancias mediante agua, aves o mamíferos. Richardson & Rejmánek (2011) prepararon un catálogo mundial de arbustos y árboles introducidos, que se volvieron invasores: 78 familias, 286 géneros y 622 especies (357 de árboles, 265 de arbustos).…”