Ecological features facilitating spread of alien plants along Mediterranean mountain roads.

ABSTRACT: Invasive alien species represent a major threat to global biodiversity and the sustenance of ecosystems. Globally, mountain ecosystems have shown a degree of resistance to invasive species due to their distinctive ecological features. However, in recent times, the construction of linear infrastructure, such as roads, might weaken this resistance, especially in the Mediterranean basin region. Roads, by acting as efficient corridors, facilitate the dispersal of alien species along elevation gradients in mountains. Here, we investigated how the ecological features and road-associated disturbance in native plant communities affected both the occurrence and cover of alien plant species in Central Apennines (Italy). We implemented the MIREN road survey in three mountain transects conducting vege

SUBMITTER: Santoianni LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11420372 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature