Ecological similarities and dissimilarities between donor and recipient regions shape global plant naturalizations.

ABSTRACT: A central question in ecology is why alien species naturalize successfully in some regions but not in others. While some hypotheses suggest aliens are more likely to naturalize in environments similar to donor regions, others suggest they thrive in regions where certain characteristics are different. Using the native (i.e., donor) and recipient distributions of 11,604 naturalized alien plant species across 650 regions globally, we assess whether plants are more likely to naturalize in regions that are ecologically similar or dissimilar to their donor regions. Our results show that species are more likely to naturalize in recipient regions where climates are similar and native floras are phylogenetically similar to those of their donor regions, indicating that pre-adaptation to familiar bio

SUBMITTER: Fan SY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12647834 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature