Time pattern variation of alien plant introductions in an insular biodiversity hotspot: the Balearic Islands as a case study for the Mediterranean region

Abstract

Allochthonous plant species are considered among the main environmental issues worldwide, being especially accused in the Mediterranean basin. The present study aims to update Balearic Alien Flora and discuss its time and spatial variation and invasiveness. Information regarding allochthonous plant records of the Balearic Islands were gathered and analysed based on published checklists and online databases. For each species several general traits were assigned based on previous references to characterise the alien Balearic Flora. Records of allochthonous species between 1827 and 2023 indicate that Alien Balearic Flora is composed of 624 taxa recorded unevenly among islands, with lower records in smaller islands. Alien flora is mainly composed of therophytes and phanerophytes being held mainly in human related habitats. Introduction pathway is mainly ornamental, with over 50% of taxa entering through gardening and horticultural practices. Main biogeographical origins are American, Mediterranean, Euroasiatic and Cape origins. Invasive status of Balearic alien flora shows that 44% of all taxa can be regarded as casual, while 35% are naturalised, and 17% can be considered invasive, being the latter increased in smaller islands. Time variations trends starting mainly in the 70 s and predictive models show that alien species increase exponentially, being the most represented taxa from synanthropic habitats, introduced as ornamentals, lianas, phanerophytes and therophytes from Cactaceae, Asteraceae and Leguminosae families. The results of the present study can serve as a model to facilitate the scientifically informed decision making and management of plant invasions both in the Balearic Islands and other continental insular systems and Mediterranean regions.

Do the Leaves of Multiple Invasive Plants Decompose More Easily than a Native Plant’s under Nitrogen Deposition with Different Forms?

“…The number of species of invasive plants in China is 515, and 92 species of these invasive plants (~17.86%) are in the Asteraceae family [5,6]. Therefore, elucidating the key mechanisms underlying the successful colonization of invasive plants, especially the Asteraceae invasive plants (hereafter abbreviated as AIPs) [7][8][9][10], has become one of the key scientific issues in the research field of invasion ecology at present. The successful colonization of invasive plants may be due to the fact that invasive plants may release a variety of nutrients during the decomposition process and then alter soil physicochemical properties (especially soil acidity and soil nutrient content, etc.)…”

Spatial distribution of insular cliff vegetation and future scenarios in a climate change perspective

“…However, these areas are also affected by anthropic disturbances and global change that comprises the structure and function of insular ecosystems (Leclerc et al, 2020). For example, the impact of alien flora has been recently reported (Cerrato et al, 2023) as well as the effect of climate change (Cubas et al, 2022; M. T. Ferreira et al, 2016).…”