Abstract
Invasive species are a subset of naturalized species, and naturalized species are a subset of alien species. Determining the relationship among these three assemblages would be helpful in predicting and preventing biological invasion. Here, we reviewed the families, lifeforms, origins, introduction pathways and phylogenetic diversity of alien, naturalized and invasive vascular plants in China. The results show that species in the Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Poaceae families had a high dominance among alien, naturalized and invasive species. Moreover, almost all alien species in the Amaranthaceae, Solanaceae, Convolvulaceae and Euphorbiaceae families became naturalized species, and about 26.7% of the naturalized species became invasive species. Perennial herbs comprised a higher proportion of alien species than did annual herbs, though annual herbs were more suited to becoming invasive than perennial herbs. A considerable proportion (57.8%) of invasive species were introduced from America. More than half (56.5%) of alien species were introduced for their ornamental value, and half of these have become naturalized in China. Moreover, about half (55.2%) of all invasive species were introduced for their economic value (including ornamental, foraging and medicinal purposes). Invasive species were phylogenetically clustered and phylogenetically distant from alien and naturalized species, which indicates that phylogenetic differences could be helpful in becoming invasive. There is no doubt that human activity plays a significant role in biological invasion. This study suggests that when introducing alien species to a region, decision-makers should certainly consider the species’ phylogeny, beyond just its fundamental characteristics.
Highlights
It is well-known that biological invasions have caused great economic and ecological losses all over the world [1,2,3]
Of which there are 1198 naturalized species of which there are 232 invasive species, and 488 are casual alien species
Poaceae accounting for 7.1%), as well as among naturalized species (Asteraceae accounting for 13.0%, Fabaceae accounting for 11.1% and Poaceae accounting for 9.5%)
Summary
It is well-known that biological invasions have caused great economic and ecological losses all over the world [1,2,3]. A species is considered naturalized, which is the fundamental precondition and a primary stage for invasion, when an alien species has established self-replacing populations that could persist for at least 10 years without human intervention [7,8]. If alien plants cannot form self-replacing populations and die out eventually in an area, they could be called as casual aliens [8]. Naturalized species could become invasive species, but only once they reproduce reproductive offspring, often in large numbers, at considerable distances from the parent plants, and have the potential to spread over a large area [7]. Understanding the distinction among alien, naturalized and invasive species allows researchers to estimate the potential of an alien species to become invasive
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