New floristic records for the province of Murcia (Spain)

Se citan por primera vez 38 taxones de flora para la provincia de Murcia (España). Entre los más relevantes, debido a su rareza o singular distribución, destacan Astragalus guttatus o Frankenia composita. Además, se indican 7 especies alóctonas, en su mayoría, potencialmente invasoras. Se incluyen datos sobre la distribución y ecología de todos ellos, además de otros comentarios sobre conservación, carácter invasor o taxonomía. Thirty-eight new interesting records for the flora of Murcia (Spain) are listed in this paper. Among them, Astragalus guttatus and Frankenia composita would be the most relevant cited species due to their rarity or their particular distribution areas. Moreover, seven exotic species are listed, most of them considered as potentially invasive species. For each species, chorological and ecology data are included. Furthermore, data belonging to their conservation status, plant invasiveness or taxonomy are added.

A classification system for predicting invasiveness using climatic niche traits and global distribution models: application to alien plant species in Chile

Functional traits that predict plant invasiveness are a central issue in invasion ecology. However, in many cases they are difficult to determine, especially for a large set of species. Climatic niche traits can overcome this problem due to the ease of acquiring them for a large number of species. This effort is critical given that knowledge of species invasiveness is necessary (although not sufficient) to anticipate/manage invasive species. In this study, we examined thermal and hydric niche traits to predict plant invasiveness. We used a set of 49 alien plant species, representative of the alien flora of Chile. Niche traits were obtained using environmental information (WorldClim) and global occurrences. Invasiveness was estimated using global niche models and projection of the potential distribution in Chile. As a final step, we reviewed the literature for a subset of species, documenting their impacts on a) biodiversity, b) crop agriculture and c) livestock. Thermal niche breadth and thermal niche position were the most important niche traits to predict potential distribution (a proxy of invasiveness). Using thermal niche breadth and niche position traits, we constructed a graphical model that classifies alien species as highly invasive (wide thermal niche breadth and low niche position) or low potential to be invasive (narrow niche breadth and high niche position). We also found no association between our invasiveness classification and the documented impact of alien species.

Plant-soil feedback contributes to predicting plant invasiveness of 68 alien plant species differing in invasive status

Abstract1. Understanding what species characteristics allow some alien plants to become invasive while others fail to is critical to our understanding of community assembly processes. While many characteristics have been shown to predict plant invasiveness, the importance of plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) in invasions has been difficult to assess since individual studies include only a few species and use disparate methodology.2. We studied PSFs of 68 invasive and non-invasive alien species in a single two-phase garden experiment, and compared the relative importance of PSF, residence time, phylogenetic novelty and plant traits for plant invasiveness. Additionally, we tested for relationships between PSF, residence time and phylogenetic novelty.3. PSF for seedling establishment belonged to five best predictors of plant invasiveness, along with specific leaf area, height, seedling growth rate, and residence time. Invasive species had more positive PSF for seedling establishment, but not for biomass, than non-invasive species. Phylogenetically novel species experienced less negative PSF than species with native congeners, suggesting they benefit more from enemy release. PSF of non-invasive species, contrary to that of invasive species, was becoming more negative with increasing residence time.4.Synthesis. We demonstrated that PSF plays a role in predicting invasiveness that is comparable with other species characteristics that are more commonly studied. PSF should thus receive more attention in studies predicting community structure and in programs assessing the likely invasions of aliens.