Alien plants confront expectations of climate change impacts

Philip E Hulme

doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2014.05.003

Alien plants confront expectations of climate change impacts

Trends Plant Sci. 2014 Sep;19(9):547-9. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2014.05.003. Epub 2014 Jun 16.

Author

Philip E Hulme¹

Affiliation

¹ The Bio-Protection Research Centre, PO Box 84, Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 24946989
DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2014.05.003

Abstract

The success of alien plants in novel environments questions basic assumptions about the fate of native species under climate change. Aliens generally spread faster than the velocity of climate change, display considerable phenotypic plasticity as well as adaptation to new selection pressures, and their ranges are often shaped by biotic rather than climatic factors. Given that many native species also exhibit these attributes, their risk of extinction as a result of climate change might be overestimated.

MeSH terms

Climate
Climate Change*
Ecosystem
Introduced Species*
Plant Dispersal / physiology*
Plant Physiological Phenomena / physiology*
Plants / classification*
Species Specificity