Bias in the historical introduction of horticultural plants and its consequences for current naturalization patterns
Final Report Abstract
The majority of naturalized and alien plant species have been introduced for ornamental purposes. As plants selected for these purposes are not a random sample of all plant species, but are selected to have certain properties, the relationship between naturalization success and species traits might be affected by such an introduction bias. This means that the association between certain traits and naturalization success might in many cases not be a direct causal one, but might be due to associations of traits with early and frequent introduction that then in turn promote naturalization success. The consequences of such an introduction bias had not been addressed yet. We used multiple data sources on the introduction history of garden plants to unravel these direct and indirect effects of species characteristics for the first time, and thereby have contributed to a better understanding of which characteristics might promote naturalization success.
Publications
- (2015) A new perspective on trait differences between native and invasive exotic plants: comment. Ecology 96:1150-1152
Dawson W, Maurel N & van Kleunen M
- (2015) Characteristics of successful alien plants. Molecular Ecology 24:1954-1968
van Kleunen M, Dawson W & Maurel N
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.13013)
