Not a melting pot: Plant species aggregate in their non‐native range

AimPlant species continue to be moved outside of their native range by human activities. Here, we aim to determine whether, once introduced, plants assimilate into native communities or whether they aggregate, thus forming mosaics of native‐ and alien‐rich communities. Alien species might aggregate in their non‐native range owing to shared habitat preferences, such as their tendency to establish in high‐biomass, species‐poor areas.LocationTwenty‐two herbaceous grasslands in 14 countries, mainly in the temperate zone.Time period2012?2016.Major taxa studiedPlants.MethodsWe used a globally coordinated survey. Within this survey, we found 46 plant species, predominantly from Eurasia, for which we had co‐occurrence data in their native and non‐native ranges. We tested for differences in co‐occurrence patterns of 46 species between their native (home) and non‐native (away) range. We also tested whether species had similar habitat preferences, by testing for differences in total biomass and species richness of the patches that species occupy in their native and non‐native ranges.ResultsWe found the same species to show different patterns of association depending on whether they were in their native or non‐native range. Alien species were negatively associated with native species; instead, they aggregated with other alien species in species‐poor, high‐biomass communities in their non‐native range compared with their native range.Main conclusionsThe strong differences between the native (home) and non‐native (away) range in species co‐occurrence patterns are evidence that the way in which species associate with resident communities in their non‐native range is not species dependent, but is instead a property of being away from their native range. These results thus highlight that species might undergo important ecological changes when introduced away from their native range. Overall, we show origin‐dependent associations that result in novel communities, in which alien‐rich patches exist within a mosaic of native‐dominated communities.Fil: Stotz, Gisela C.. University of Alberta; CanadáFil: Cahill Jr, James F.. University of Alberta; CanadáFil: Bennett, Jonathan A.. University of Alberta; CanadáFil: Carlyle, Cameron N.. University of Alberta; CanadáFil: Bork, Edward W.. University of Alberta; CanadáFil: Askarizadeh, Diana. University of Tehran; IsraelFil: Bartha, Sandor. Centre for Ecological Research; HungríaFil: Beierkuhnlein, Carl. University of Bayreuth; AlemaniaFil: Boldgiv, Bazartseren. National University of Mongolia; MongoliaFil: Brown, Leslie. University of South Africa; SudáfricaFil: Cabido, Marcelo Ruben. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Campetella, Giandiego. Universita Degli Di Camerino; ItaliaFil: Chelli, Stefano. Universita Degli Di Camerino; ItaliaFil: Cohen, Ofer. Universitat Tel Aviv; IsraelFil: Díaz, Sandra Myrna. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Enrico, Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Ensing, David. Queens University; CanadáFil: Erdenetsetseg, Batdelger. National University of Mongolia; MongoliaFil: Fidelis, Alessandra. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Garris, Heath W.. Covenant College; Estados UnidosFil: Henry, Hugh A. L.. Western Ontario University; CanadáFil: Jentsch, Anke. University of Bayreuth; AlemaniaFil: Hassan, Mohammad. Islamic Azad University; IránFil: Koorem, Kadri. University of Tartu; EstoniaFil: Manning, Peter. Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre; AlemaniaFil: Mitchell, Randall. University of Akron; Estados UnidosFil: Moora, Mari. University of Tartu; EstoniaFil: Overbeck, Gerhard E.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Pither, Jason. University of British Columbia; CanadáFil: Reinhart, Kurt O.. United States Department of Agriculture ; Estados UnidosFil: Sternberg, Marcelo. Universitat Tel Aviv; IsraelFil: Tungalag, Radnaakhand. National University of Mongolia; MongoliaFil: Undrakhbold, Sainbileg. National University of Mongolia; MongoliaFil: van Rooyen, Margaretha. University of Pretoria; SudáfricaFil: Wellstein, Camilla. Free University of Bozen; ItaliaFil: Zobel, Martin. University of Tartu; EstoniaFil: Fraser, Lauchlan H.. Thompson Rivers University; Canad