Are invasive plant species better competitors than native plant species? – evidence from pair‐wise experiments

Invasive plants often appear to be more competitive than native species, but there have been few tests of this hypothesis. We reviewed published pair‐wise experiments between invading and native plant species. Although the designs that have been used allow only limited inferences, the available data suggest that the effect of invasive species on native species is usually stronger than vice versa. Furthermore, mixtures of invasive and native species are generally less productive than monocultures of the native species, but not less than monocultures of the invasive species. However, the selection of invaders and natives for study has not been random, and the data could be biased towards highly competitive…

• ES
  European Science Foundation
• MD
  Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología