Exotic Invasive Species

Exotic plant invasions are causing profound changes to ecosystems around the world. However, it is difficult to generalise about their effects on ecosystem properties, since these vary according to the traits of the invading species, and the properties of the invaded vegetation and habitat. Yet, knowing the inherent functional traits of an exotic invasive plant could improve understanding of its invasion success and impact, since plant traits affect ecosystem properties such as through fall distribution, soil temperature and nutrient cycling. The knowledge of the distribution of functional traits within the native plant community in comparison to the traits of the invader help to identify the mechanisms by which an exotic invasive plant is
However, there are also studies that found no relationship. Many traits may contribute to invasion success (life form, phenology, seed size, polyploidy level etc.) and the significance of individual traits is often context-dependent or species-specific. In particular, traits promoting high reproduction rates and rapid spread are decisive for the colonisation of open habitats while those promoting fast growth and resource acquisition are most important for the ability to establish, dominate and displace the resident vegetation. Therefore, the most successful invaders are often species with high SLA (specific leaf areas), high relative growth rates and rather high nutrient turnover these traits are characteristic of a competitive-ruderal strategy. Invaders therefore tend to have an advantage over native species under high nutrient, whereas nutrient-poor conditions do generally not favour plant invasions. Phenotypic plasticity in functional traits can allow invasive plants to benefit from changing environmental conditions, either by greatly increasing their performance under resource-rich conditions or by maintaining their performance under resource-poor