TY - JOUR

T1 - Anthropogenic factors overrule local abiotic variables in determining non-native plant invasions in mountains

AU - Fuentes-Lillo, Eduardo

AU - Lembrechts, Jonas J.

AU - Cavieres, Lohengrin A.

AU - Jiménez, Alejandra

AU - Haider, Sylvia

AU - Barros, Agustina

AU - Pauchard, Aníbal

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

PY - 2021/12/1

Y1 - 2021/12/1

N2 - The factors that determine patterns of non-native species richness and abundance are context dependent in both time and space. Global change has significantly boosted plant invasions in mountains, therefore, understanding which factors determine the invasion and at what scale they operate are fundamental for decision-making in the conservation of mountain ecosystems. Although much evidence has been gathered on the patterns of non-native species in mountain ecosystems, little is known about what specific abiotic, biotic, or anthropogenic factors are driven such patterns. Here, we assessed the importance of anthropogenic, biotic, and abiotic factors at two spatial scales as drivers of plant invasions along three roads in south-central Chile. We sampled non-native plant richness and abundance, and each of these explanatory factors, in-situ in 60 transects in disturbed areas and adjacent undisturbed vegetation. Low elevation areas were the most invaded, with patterns of richness and abundance driven mainly by anthropogenic factors, explaining between 20 and 50% of the variance for the three roads. Only for the abundance of non-native species along the road in the Malalcahuello National Reserve, biotic factors were more important (45% of the variance). At the regional scale, the abundance of non-native species was again explained best by anthropogenic factors (24% of the variance), yet non-native richness was driven most strongly by abiotic factors such as soil nitrogen content and pH (15% of the variance). Our results confirm the conclusions from experimental studies that anthropogenic factors override abiotic factors and are important drivers of non-native species at local and regional scales and that non-native plant invasion in mountains is currently not strongly limited by climate.

AB - The factors that determine patterns of non-native species richness and abundance are context dependent in both time and space. Global change has significantly boosted plant invasions in mountains, therefore, understanding which factors determine the invasion and at what scale they operate are fundamental for decision-making in the conservation of mountain ecosystems. Although much evidence has been gathered on the patterns of non-native species in mountain ecosystems, little is known about what specific abiotic, biotic, or anthropogenic factors are driven such patterns. Here, we assessed the importance of anthropogenic, biotic, and abiotic factors at two spatial scales as drivers of plant invasions along three roads in south-central Chile. We sampled non-native plant richness and abundance, and each of these explanatory factors, in-situ in 60 transects in disturbed areas and adjacent undisturbed vegetation. Low elevation areas were the most invaded, with patterns of richness and abundance driven mainly by anthropogenic factors, explaining between 20 and 50% of the variance for the three roads. Only for the abundance of non-native species along the road in the Malalcahuello National Reserve, biotic factors were more important (45% of the variance). At the regional scale, the abundance of non-native species was again explained best by anthropogenic factors (24% of the variance), yet non-native richness was driven most strongly by abiotic factors such as soil nitrogen content and pH (15% of the variance). Our results confirm the conclusions from experimental studies that anthropogenic factors override abiotic factors and are important drivers of non-native species at local and regional scales and that non-native plant invasion in mountains is currently not strongly limited by climate.

KW - Biology

KW - Andes mountains

KW - Invasive species

KW - Non-native species

KW - Human settlement

KW - Protected areas

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85111142675&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/b8058a07-3bdd-38d6-86c3-606d15e53bc7/

U2 - 10.1007/s10530-021-02602-8

DO - 10.1007/s10530-021-02602-8

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85111142675

VL - 23

SP - 3671

EP - 3686

JO - Biological Invasions

JF - Biological Invasions

SN - 1387-3547

IS - 12

ER -