Linked plant-fungal invasions: an introduction to a Virtual Issue.
Dickie IA, Selosse MA, Öpik M.
Invasive Species
Invasive plants spreading into natural areas near you may be dragging along foreign fungi that disrupt the native soil networks your local wildflowers, trees, and understory plants depend on to survive.
Scientists have discovered that plant invasions and fungal invasions are often connected — when a non-native plant spreads into a new area, it can carry its home-region fungi with it, or it may thrive because it escapes the fungi that kept it in check back home. This double-invasion effect can make invasive plants even harder to control and more damaging to native ecosystems. Understanding this link opens new doors for managing invasive species more effectively.
Key Findings
Plant invasions and fungal invasions are frequently linked, not independent events — invading plants often co-introduce or selectively associate with non-native fungi.
Escape from native soil pathogens and fungi may give invasive plants a competitive advantage over resident native species in their new range.
Managing invasive plants may require accounting for their fungal associates, as fungi can facilitate or hinder plant establishment and spread.
chevron_right Technical Summary
When invasive plants arrive in new regions, they often bring along invasive fungi, creating linked biological invasions that compound ecological damage beyond what either organism causes alone.
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