Invasive plant species in the West Indies: geographical, ecological, and floristic insights.

ABSTRACT: The level of invasion (number or proportion of invasive species) in a given area depends on features of the invaded community, propagule pressure, and climate. In this study, we assess the invasive flora of nine islands in the West Indies to identify invasion patterns and evaluate whether invasive species diversity is related to geographical, ecological, and socioeconomic factors. We compiled a database of invasive plant species including information on their taxonomy, origin, pathways of introduction, habitats, and life history. This database was used to evaluate the similarity of invasive floras between islands and to identify invasion patterns at regional (West Indies) and local (island) scales. We found a total of 516 alien plant species that are invasive on at least one of the nine is

SUBMITTER: Rojas-Sandoval J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5496547 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature