Impacts of alien plant invasions on species richness in Mediterranean-type ecosystems: a meta-analysis

Gaertner, Mirijam; Breeÿen, A. den; Hui, Cang; Richardson, David M.

doi:10.1177/0309133309341607

Cited by 423 publications

(339 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…vegetation plots. In general, the shift to a finer scale strongly affects the representation of alien species, and effects on native species significantly increase with decreasing unit size (Gaertner et al 2009;Pyšek and Hulme 2005). In particular, plot size commonly used in phytosociological studies has been proved to be suitable as they capture a reasonably high proportion of species present in the habitat, and the scale enables precise assessment of the effects of environmental variables, not possible on larger scales (Pyšek et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The response of plant community diversity to alien invasion: evidence from a sand dune time series

2014

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This study examines the process of invasion of coastal dunes in north-eastern Italy along a 60-year time series considering alien attributes (origin, residence time, invasive status, and growth form strategy) and habitat properties (species richness, diversity and evenness, proportion of aliens, and proportion of focal species). Vegetation changes through time were investigated in four sandy coastal habitats, using a fine-scale diachronic approach that compared vegetation data collected by use of the same procedure, in four time periods, from the 1950s to 2011. Our analysis revealed an overall significant decline of species richness over the last six decades. Further, both the average number of species per plot and the mean focal species proportion were proved to be negatively affected by the increasing proportion of alien species at plot level. The severity of the impact, however, was found to be determined by a combination of species attributes, habitat properties, and human disturbance suggesting that alien species should be referred to as ''passengers'' and not as ''drivers'' of ecosystem change. Passenger alien species are those which take advantage of disturbances or other changes to which they are adapted but that lead to a decline in native biodiversity. Their spread is facilitated by widespread anthropogenic environmental alterations, which create new, suitable habitats, and ensure human-assisted dispersal, reducing the distinctiveness of plant communities and inducing a process of biotic homogenization.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The response of plant community diversity to alien invasion: evidence from a sand dune time series

2014

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“…Invasive alien species (IAS) are considered one of the key pressures on world's biodiversity (Leprieur et al 2008;Rands et al 2010), alter ecosystem services and processes (Hulme et al 2009;Vilà et al , 2011, reduce native species abundance and richness (Cohen and Carlton 1998;Blackburn et al 2004;Gaertner et al 2009;Hejda et al 2009), decrease genetic diversity of resident species (Ellstrand and Schierenbeck 2000;Daehler and Carino 2001), and cause substantial economic losses (Pimentel et al 2005;Xu et al 2006a;Kettunen et al 2009). Responding to this threat is therefore particularly urgent (Lambertini et al 2011).…”

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confidence: 99%

An inventory of invasive alien species in China

Xu¹,

Sheng²,

Genovesi³

et al. 2012

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Invasive alien species (IAS) are a major global challenge requiring urgent action, and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity (2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019)(2020) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) includes a target on the issue. Meeting the target requires an understanding of invasion patterns. However, national or regional analyses of invasions are limited to developed countries. We identified 488 IAS in China's terrestrial habitats, inland waters and marine ecosystems based on available literature and field work, including 171 animals, 265 plants, 26 fungi, 3 protists, 11 procaryots, and 12 viruses. Terrestrial plants account for 51.6% of the total number of IAS, and terrestrial invertebrates (104 species) for 21.3%. Of the total numbers, 67.9% of plant IAS and 34.8% of animal IAS were introduced intentionally. All other taxa were introduced unintentionally despite very few animal and plant species that invaded naturally. In terms of habitats, 64.3% of IAS occur on farmlands, 13.9% in forests, 8.4% in marine ecosystems, 7.3% in inland waters, and 6.1% in residential areas. Half of all IAS (51.1%) originate from North and South America, 18.3% from Europe, 17.3% from Asia not including China, 7.2% from Africa, 1.8% from Oceania, and the origin of the remaining 4.3% IAS is unknown. The distribution of IAS can be divided into three zones. Most IAS are distributed in coastal

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“…Non-native species are increasingly recognized as a primary cause of the decline of species diversity (Mack et al 2000;Gaertner et al 2009;Vilà et al 2011;Pyšek et al 2012). Although the presence of non-native species is often correlated with native diversity, the magnitude and direction of this relationship depend on the spatial scale of observation (e.g., Stohlgren et al 1999Stohlgren et al , 2002Fridley et al 2007;Sandel and Corbin 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-Native Plants Disrupt Dual Promotion of Native Alpha and Beta Diversity

et al. 2013

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Non-native species can alter patterns of species diversity at multiple spatial scales, but the processes that underlie multi-scale effects remain unclear. Here we show that non-native species reduce native diversity at multiple scales through simultaneous disruption of two processes of native community assembly: species immigration, which enhances alpha diversity, and community divergence, which enhances beta diversity. Community divergence refers to the process in which local communities diverge over time in species composition because the history of species immigration and, consequently, the way species affect one another within communities are variable among communities. Continuous experimental removal of species over four years of floodplain succession revealed that, when non-native species were excluded, stochastic variation in the timing of a dominant native species' arrival allowed local communities to diverge, thereby enhancing beta diversity, without compromising promotion of alpha diversity by species immigration. In contrast, when non-native species were allowed to enter experimental plots, they not only reduced native alpha diversity by limiting immigration, but also diminished the dominant native species' role in enhancing native beta diversity. Our results highlight the importance of community assembly and succession for understanding multi-scale effects of non-native species.

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Impacts of alien plant invasions on species richness in Mediterranean-type ecosystems: a meta-analysis

Cited by 423 publications

References 81 publications

The response of plant community diversity to alien invasion: evidence from a sand dune time series

The response of plant community diversity to alien invasion: evidence from a sand dune time series

An inventory of invasive alien species in China

Non-Native Plants Disrupt Dual Promotion of Native Alpha and Beta Diversity

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