Invasive plants

Invasive plants are defined by their ability to invade and disrupt an ecosystem. While most species stay within a set range and have predators or other limitations on their growth, invasive species tend to overrun ecosystems into which they are introduced. Collectively they are one of the great threats to biodiversity and ecosystem stability. The reason invasives are so successful is multifaceted and is still an inconclusive issue. Such invasions cost billions to economies all over the world; everything from loss of grazing land to the destruction of keystone native species are caused by these rogue invaders. Invasive plants can be spread in many ways, by accident and on purpose. Many of these plants have been spread through impure seed or through ornamental gardening. Others can appear in foreign areas by hitching a ride on a vehicle or in cargo.

Related Topics:
Ecosystem - Species - Predator - Biodiversity - Gardening

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There are dozens of examples of plant invasiveness throughout the world. One example is Bromus tectorum (Drooping Brome grass), which spreads rapidly after burning, and crowds out plants vital to grazing, while itself being of low nutritive value to grazing animals. In the southern United States, Pueraria lobata (Kudzu) was originally planted to stop roadside erosion, and now covered large areas with its leafy vines. It has been known to swallow up entire fields and forests if left unchecked. All over the world, invasives are crowding out native species and destroying ecosystems.

Related Topics:
Drooping Brome - United States - Kudzu - Erosion

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Invasive plants cost the United States $173 million a year in terms of management and economic loss. More importantly, invasive species have the ability to wipe out whole ecosystems, terrestrial and aquatic. Though much research has been done, the exact cause of invasion has yet to be pinned down. There are several possible mechanisms by which the invasive species become invasive, and more often than not it requires a special set of circumstances for an invader to become established, then reproduce enough to become a threat to the native habitat.

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