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Non-native plantations: Plant invasion hotspots to multispecies bridgeheads.

PubMed · 2026-06-09

Non-native tree plantations — often planted for timber or carbon sequestration — can act as launching pads for invasive plant species, allowing them to spread far beyond the plantation into surrounding natural areas.

Non-native tree plantations function as 'bridgeheads' — staging grounds from which multiple invasive plant species spread into surrounding native ecosystems

Plantations support higher densities and diversity of invasive understory plants compared to native forests, amplifying the regional invasion risk

The effect is not limited to one invader: plantations simultaneously facilitate multiple non-native species, compounding ecological impact

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