Introduction bias affects relationships between the characteristics of ornamental alien plants and their naturalization success

0464414 - BÚ 2017 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Maurel, N. - Hanspach, J. - Kühn, I. - Pyšek, Petr - van Kleunen, M. … Total 6 authors
Introduction bias affects relationships between the characteristics of ornamental alien plants and their naturalization success.
Global Ecology and Biogeography. Roč. 25, č. 12 (2016), s. 1500-1509. ISSN 1466-822X. E-ISSN 1466-8238
R&D Projects: GA ČR GB14-36079G
Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) AP1002
Program: Akademická prémie - Praemium Academiae
Institutional support: RVO:67985939
Keywords : exotic plants * propagule pressure * residence time
Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour
Impact factor: 6.045, year: 2016

We compiled a dataset of 435 alien plant species introduced in cultivation in Germany, including data on their year of introduction, the number of botanical gardens where they are planted, native range, biological traits and naturalization success. We used path analysis to estimate the direct effects of geographical origin and biological traits on naturalization, and their indirect effects mediated by year and/or frequency of introduction. We found significant direct positive effects of native range size and winter hardiness on naturalization. Alien species native to other parts of Europe and species with a large native range were brought to the country earlier than other species. In addition, woody species, winter-hardy species and tall species were planted more frequently than others. Because the number of botanical gardens where a species is planted increased naturalization success directly, and residence time did so indirectly through a significant positive association with the number of botanical gardens, most of the species characteristics had indirect effects on naturalization. Our approach allowed us to show that apparent effects of species characteristics on naturalization success can be at least partly indirect, due to introduction biases. This indicates that failure to recognize such introduction biases could impair our ability to explain the success of alien plant species.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0265559