Why are non‐native plants successful? Consistently fast economic traits and novel origin jointly explain abundance across US ecoregions

Are non-native plants abundant because they are non-native, and have advantages over native plants, or because they possess 'fast' resource strategies, and have advantages in disturbed environments? This question is central to invasion biology but remains unanswered. We quantified the relative importance of resource strategy and biogeographic origin in 69 441 plots across the conterminous United States containing 11 280 plant species. Non-native species had faster economic traits than native species in most plant communities (77%, 86% and 82% of plots for leaf nitrogen concentration, specific leaf area, and leaf dry matter content). Non-native species also had distinct patterns of abundance, but these were not explained by their fast traits. Compared with functionally similar native species, non-native species were (1) more abundant in plains and deserts, indicating the importance of biogeographic origin, and less abundant in forested ecoregions, (2) were more abundant where co-occurring species had fast traits, for example due to disturbance, and (3) showed weaker signals of local environmental filtering. These results clarify the nature of plant invasion: Although non-native plants have consistently fast economic traits, other novel characteristics and processes likely explain their abundance and, therefore, impacts.

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Publication Details

Journal
New Phytologist
Published
2025-06-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.70307
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.63

Funders

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article

Why are non‐native plants successful? Consistently fast economic traits and novel origin jointly explain abundance across US ecoregions

Montserrat Vilà, Cascade J. B. Sorte, Bethany A. Bradley, Regan Early et al.
2 citations
New Phytologist
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
4.63
article

Why are non‐native plants successful? Consistently fast economic traits and novel origin jointly explain abundance across US ecoregions

Montserrat Vilà, Cascade J. B. Sorte, Bethany A. Bradley, Regan Early, Daniel C. Laughlin, Jeffrey M. Diez, David T. Barnett, Evelyn M. Beaury, Jeffrey S. Dukes, Jeffrey D. Corbin, Helen R. Sofaer, Ian S. Pearse, Inés Ibáñez, Dana M. Blumenthal, Laís Petri
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Are non-native plants abundant because they are non-native, and have advantages over native plants, or because they possess 'fast' resource strategies, and have advantages in disturbed environments? This question is central to invasion biology but remains unanswered. We quantified the relative importance of resource strategy and biogeographic origin in 69 441 plots across the conterminous United States containing 11 280 plant species. Non-native species had faster economic traits than native species in most plant communities (77%, 86% and 82% of plots for leaf nitrogen concentration, specific leaf area, and leaf dry matter content). Non-native species also had distinct patterns of abundance, but these were not explained by their fast traits. Compared with functionally similar native species, non-native species were (1) more abundant in plains and deserts, indicating the importance of biogeographic origin, and less abundant in forested ecoregions, (2) were more abundant where co-occurring species had fast traits, for example due to disturbance, and (3) showed weaker signals of local environmental filtering. These results clarify the nature of plant invasion: Although non-native plants have consistently fast economic traits, other novel characteristics and processes likely explain their abundance and, therefore, impacts.

New PhytologistVol. 248(3)
University of Wyoming (US), United States Geological Survey (US), Hawaii Pacific University (US), Union College (US), University of Oregon (US), Carnegie Institution for Science (US), University of California, Irvine (US), University of Exeter (GB), University of Massachusetts Amherst (US), University of Michigan (US), New York Botanical Garden (US), National Ecological Observatory Network (US), Estación Biológica de Doñana (ES), NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (US), Agricultural Research Service - Plains Area (US), Universidad de Sevilla (ES), Michigan State University (US)
Directorate for Biological Sciences, Agricultural Research Service, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
4.63
DOISourceOpenAlex
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