Habitat invasions by alien plants: a quantitative comparison among Mediterranean, subcontinental and oceanic regions of Europe

Abstract

Summary: Although invasions by alien plants are major threats to the biodiversity of natural habitats, individual habitats vary considerably in their susceptibility to invasion. Therefore the risk assessment procedures, which are used increasingly by environmental managers to inform effective planning of invasive plant control, require reliable quantitative information on the extent to which different habitats are susceptible to invasion. It is also important to know whether the levels of invasion in different habitats are locally specific or consistent among regions with contrasting climate, flora and history of human impact. We compiled a database of 52 480 vegetation plots from three regions of Europe: Catalonia (Mediterranean–submediterranean region), Czech Republic (subcontinental) and Great Britain (oceanic). We classified plant species into neophytes, archaeophytes and natives, and calculated the proportion of each group in 33 habitats described by the European Nature Information System (EUNIS) classification. Of 545 alien species found in the plots, only eight occurred in all three regions. Despite this large difference in species composition, patterns of habitat invasions were highly consistent between regions. None or few aliens were found in environmentally extreme and nutrient‐poor habitats, e.g. mires, heathlands and high‐mountain grasslands. Many aliens were found in frequently disturbed habitats with fluctuating nutrient availability, e.g. in man‐made habitats. Neophytes were also often found in coastal, littoral and riverine habitats. Neophytes were found commonly in habitats also occupied by archaeophytes. Thus, the number of archaeophytes can be considered as a good predictor of the neophyte invasion risk. However, neophytes had stronger affinity to wet habitats and disturbed woody vegetation while archaeophytes tended to be more common in dry to mesic open habitats. Synthesis and applications. The considerable inter‐regional consistency of the habitat invasion patterns suggests that habitats can be used as a good predictor for the invasion risk assessment. This finding opens promising perspectives for the use of spatially explicit information on habitats, including scenarios of future land‐use change, to identify the areas of highest risk of invasion.