Biological invasions are widely acknowledged as a major threat to global biodiversity. Species from all major taxonomic groups have become invasive. The range of impacts of invasive taxa and the overall magnitude of the threat is increasing. Plants comprise the biggest and best-studied group of invasive species. There is a growing debate; however, regarding the nature of the alien plant threat-...

—Studies suggest that the southern United States is an area of primary concern with regards to the spread of nonnative invasive plant species. Recent data show that species such as Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and Nepalese browntop (Microstegium vimineum) are invading forests and displacing native species throughout the southern United States. Monitoring on large spatial scales is a...

While several studies have shown that invasive plant effects on soil biota influence subsequent plant performance, corresponding studies on how invasive animals affect plants through influencing soil biota are lacking. This is despite the fact that invasive animals often indirectly alter the below-ground subsystem. We studied 18 offshore islands in northern New Zealand, half of which have been ...

Plants and herbivorous insects can each be dramatically affected by temperature. Climate warming may impact plant invasion success directly but also indirectly through changes in their natural enemies. To date, however, there are no tests of how climate warming shifts the interactions among invasive plants and their natural enemies to affect invasion success. Field surveys covering the full lat...

Eucalypt plantations expand rapidly out of their natural distribution zones, thus inducing a concern on their effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functions. We compare the understory plant diversity of 46 plots of eucalypt plantations, including early and later stages in rotation, with that of 21 plots of contrast vegetation, including other types of plantations and secondary shrub grassland,...

In response to the global threat of invasive alien species, there has been a proliferation of volunteer-based monitoring programs. The valuable data sets collected through these programs facilitate large-scale, baseline population monitoring. The Invasive Plant Atlas of New England, created in 2001, was the first such regional database and is the only one in which both presence and true absence...