Improving methods to evaluate the impacts of plant invasions: lessons from 40 years of research.

ABSTRACT: Methods used to evaluate the ecological impacts of biological invasions vary widely from broad-scale observational studies to removal experiments in invaded communities and experimental additions in common gardens and greenhouses. Different methods provide information at diverse spatial and temporal scales with varying levels of reliability. Thus, here we provide a synthetic and critical review of the methods used to evaluate the impacts of plant invasions and provide recommendations for future research. We review the types of methods available and report patterns in methods used, including the duration and spatial scale of studies and plant functional groups examined, from 410 peer-reviewed papers published between 1971 and 2011. We found that there has been a marked increase in papers pu

SUBMITTER: Stricker KB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4418169 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature