Are native-range habitats of invasive plants similar to invaded-range habitats?
Understanding why some invasive alien plant species are more successful invaders than others is an important aspect in invasive species ecology. In this recent study Hejda et al. (2015) compared native and introduced ranges of 286 invasive plant species at a global level. The study found that the majority of invasive plant species were native to forest habitats whereas native aquatic habitats were the source of the lowest number of invasive plant species. Pre-adaptation in native range habitats, to climatic and ecological variation – and the occurrence of some species in an array of native habitats may allow increased invasiveness in introduced regions. The authors highlight that in this study, invasive plants differed in their native range habitat type based on the geographical direction of invasion.
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Hejda M, Chytrý M, Pergl J, Pyšek P (2015) Native-range habitats of invasive plants: are they similar to invaded range habitats and do they differ according to the geographical direction of invasion? Diversity and Distributions 21, 312-321. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ddi.12299/abstract