Abstract
AimAlien plant species can cause severe ecological and economic problems, and therefore attract a lot of research interest in biogeography and related fields. To identify potential future invasive species, we need to better understand the mechanisms underlying the abundances of invasive tree species in their new ranges, and whether these mechanisms differ between their native and alien ranges. Here, we test two hypotheses: that greater relative abundance is promoted by (a) functional difference from locally co‐occurring trees, and (b) higher values than locally co‐occurring trees for traits linked to competitive ability.LocationGlobal.Time periodRecent.Major taxa studiedTrees.MethodsWe combined three global plant databases: sPlot vegetation‐plot database, TRY plant trait database and Global Naturalized Alien Flora (GloNAF) database. We used a hierarchical Bayesian linear regression model to assess the factors associated with variation in local abundance, and how these relationships vary between native and alien ranges and depend on species’ traits.ResultsIn both ranges, species reach highest abundance if they are functionally similar to co‐occurring species, yet are taller and have higher seed mass and wood density than co‐occurring species.Main conclusionsOur results suggest that light limitation leads to strong environmental and biotic filtering, and that it is advantageous to be taller and have denser wood. The striking similarities in abundance between native and alien ranges imply that information from tree species’ native ranges can be used to predict in which habitats introduced species may become dominant.
Highlights
Biological invasions by alien species can cause severe environmental and economic problems (Mack et al, 2000; Petit, Bialozyt, GarnierGéré & Hampe, 2004; Richardson, Hui, Nuñez & Pauchard, 2014; Vilà et al, 2010)
How are the local abundances of tree species, in both their native and alien ranges, related to trait dissimilarity of co-occurring woody species? We address this question in terms of both overall trait dissimilarity, and differences in traits linked to competitive ability
We focus on four traits that capture a large part of the functional differences among species with respect to competition for light and other resources, that are positioned along the r–K continuum and that are associated with tolerance to drought and shade
Summary
Biological invasions by alien species can cause severe environmental and economic problems (Mack et al, 2000; Petit, Bialozyt, GarnierGéré & Hampe, 2004; Richardson, Hui, Nuñez & Pauchard, 2014; Vilà et al, 2010). Many invasive alien species are not considered harmful in their native range (Colautti et al, 2014; Parker et al, 2013), which suggests that they can interact in novel ways with the species in the new conditions of their alien range. Few studies have compared abundance differences in the native versus alien ranges of plant species (Firn et al, 2011; Gallien & Carboni, 2017; Hierro, Maron & Callaway, 2005; van Kleunen, Dawson, Schlaepfer, Jeschke & Fischer, 2010), and the ones that did mainly focused on the enemy-release hypothesis (Colautti, Ricciardi, Grigorovich & MacIsaac, 2004) or on a small set of species (Callaway & Aschehoug, 2000; Taylor et al, 2016). A better global-scale understanding of how patterns associated with mechanisms of coexistence differ between the native and alien ranges of species would provide insights into the invasion process that could help with the management of incipient invasions and the prevention of new ones
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