Naturalized species drive functional trait shifts in plant communities.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: National Academy of Sciences Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 7505876 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1091-6490 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00278424 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: Washington, DC : National Academy of Sciences
    • Subject Terms:
      Ecosystem* ; Plants*/classification ; Introduced Species*; United States ; Forests ; Biodiversity ; Plant Physiological Phenomena ; Plant Roots
    • Abstract:
      Despite decades of research documenting the consequences of naturalized and invasive plant species on ecosystem functions, our understanding of the functional underpinnings of these changes remains rudimentary. This is partially due to ineffective scaling of trait differences between native and naturalized species to whole plant communities. Working with data from over 75,000 plots and over 5,500 species from across the United States, we show that changes in the functional composition of communities associated with increasing abundance of naturalized species mirror the differences in traits between native and naturalized plants. We find that communities with greater abundance of naturalized species are more resource acquisitive aboveground and belowground, shorter, more shallowly rooted, and increasingly aligned with an independent strategy for belowground resource acquisition via thin fine roots with high specific root length. We observe shifts toward herbaceous-dominated communities but shifts within both woody and herbaceous functional groups follow community-level patterns for most traits. Patterns are remarkably similar across desert, grassland, and forest ecosystems. Our results demonstrate that the establishment and spread of naturalized species, likely in combination with underlying environmental shifts, leads to predictable and consistent changes in community-level traits that can alter ecosystem functions.
      Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.
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    • Grant Information:
      2021-67034-35000 USDA | National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA); NA DOI | U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: functional traits; invasive plants; invasive species impacts community-weighted mean traits
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20240919 Date Completed: 20240919 Latest Revision: 20241010
    • Publication Date:
      20241010
    • Accession Number:
      PMC11459196
    • Accession Number:
      10.1073/pnas.2403120121
    • Accession Number:
      39298470