Naturalized species drive functional trait shifts in plant communities

Despite decades of research documenting the consequences of naturalized and invasive plant species on ecosystem functions, our understanding of the functional underpinnings of these changes remains rudimentary. This is partially due to ineffective scaling of trait differences between native and naturalized species to whole plant communities. Working with data from over 75,000 plots and over 5,500 species from across the United States, we show that changes in the functional composition of communities associated with increasing abundance of naturalized species mirror the differences in traits between native and naturalized plants. We find that communities with greater abundance of naturalized species are more resource acquisitive aboveground and belowground, shorter, more shallowly rooted, and increasingly aligned with an independent strategy for belowground resource acquisition via thin fine roots with high specific root length. We observe shifts toward herbaceous-dominated communities but shifts within both woody and herbaceous functional groups follow community-level patterns for most traits. Patterns are remarkably similar across desert, grassland, and forest ecosystems. Our results demonstrate that the establishment and spread of naturalized species, likely in combination with underlying environmental shifts, leads to predictable and consistent changes in community-level traits that can alter ecosystem functions.

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Publication Details

Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2024-09-19
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2403120121
Citations
9
Primary Topic
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
6.22

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article

Naturalized species drive functional trait shifts in plant communities

Montserrat Vilà, Regan Early, Daniel C. Laughlin, D. M. Buonaiuto et al.
9 citations
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
6.22
article

Naturalized species drive functional trait shifts in plant communities

Montserrat Vilà, Regan Early, Daniel C. Laughlin, D. M. Buonaiuto, David T. Barnett, Evelyn M. Beaury, Jeffrey S. Dukes, Magda Garbowski, Andrea N. Nebhut, Jeffrey D. Corbin, Helen R. Sofaer, Ian S. Pearse, Dana M. Blumenthal, Laís Petri
article en
9 citations

Abstract

Despite decades of research documenting the consequences of naturalized and invasive plant species on ecosystem functions, our understanding of the functional underpinnings of these changes remains rudimentary. This is partially due to ineffective scaling of trait differences between native and naturalized species to whole plant communities. Working with data from over 75,000 plots and over 5,500 species from across the United States, we show that changes in the functional composition of communities associated with increasing abundance of naturalized species mirror the differences in traits between native and naturalized plants. We find that communities with greater abundance of naturalized species are more resource acquisitive aboveground and belowground, shorter, more shallowly rooted, and increasingly aligned with an independent strategy for belowground resource acquisition via thin fine roots with high specific root length. We observe shifts toward herbaceous-dominated communities but shifts within both woody and herbaceous functional groups follow community-level patterns for most traits. Patterns are remarkably similar across desert, grassland, and forest ecosystems. Our results demonstrate that the establishment and spread of naturalized species, likely in combination with underlying environmental shifts, leads to predictable and consistent changes in community-level traits that can alter ecosystem functions.

Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesVol. 121(40)
New Mexico State University (US), University of Wyoming (US), United States Geological Survey (US), Union College (US), Carnegie Institution for Science (US), Princeton University (US), University of Exeter (GB), University of Massachusetts Amherst (US), National Ecological Observatory Network (US), Estación Biológica de Doñana (ES), Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center (US), Agricultural Research Service - Plains Area (US), Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Universidad de Sevilla (ES), Michigan State University (US), Stanford University (US)
National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Battelle, U.S. Geological Survey, National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 3%
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
6.22
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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