Non Native Invasive Plant Species

In a variety of ecosystems, the presence of non-native invasive plant species has increased dramatically over the last several centuries. Due to elevation gradients in mountains, abiotic factors that occur with increasing elevation such as lower temperatures and longer snow cover duration act as fairly effective barriers to invasion by non-native species. Global climate change will likely alter these abiotic barriers to plant invasions, especially the barrier of temperature, however most studies are relatively vague and need review in order to isolate and synthesize the various abiotic factors and their effects on different ecosystems. On average, the optimum elevations of plants (natives and non-natives) are increasing as a result of climate