Trait filtering during exotic plant invasion of tropical rainforest remnants along a disturbance gradient

1. Human‐modified tropical landscapes are often invaded by exotic plant species, but relatively few species are able to colonise remnant areas of rainforest embedded within such landscapes. The functional traits of successful invaders of natural versus anthropogenic habitats are poorly known, especially in tropical regions, and identifying such traits provides insight into the mechanisms that drive invasion. Here, we examine the invasion of tropical rainforest remnants along a disturbance gradient, within a human‐modified agricultural landscape, and determine whether exotic species that invade these forests are selected according to particular traits. 2. We surveyed the occurrence of 18 exotic species along 100‐m transects in four habitats—oil palm road, forest‐oil palm edges and disturbed and intact forest within rainforest remnants—at 21 sites across Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We collated data on four functional traits relevant to the barriers plants encounter when colonising new environments (e.g. dispersal and persistence) and tested whether trait filtering occurs during invasion of rainforest remnants. 3. Exotic species richness declined significantly from oil palm (mean 9.2 species per transect) to forest edge (7.8 species) to inside rainforest remnants (3.1 species in disturbed forest), and only one species, Clidemia hirta, invaded intact forest. Exotic communities within rainforest remnants had long‐distance (vertebrate) dispersal, were woodier and had taller maximum heights, compared to those found in oil palm. For each trait, the community‐weighted mean for the forest edge community was intermediate between oil palm and disturbed forest, suggesting trait filtering during the invasion of rainforest remnants. 4. Our study provides strong evidence that trait filtering occurs during invasion from human‐modified agricultural habitats into previously disturbed forests via the forest edge. Successful invasion of rainforest remnants requires relatively long‐distance dispersal, in particular by vertebrates, as well as traits that are more similar to those of native forest species (i.e. tall and woody), making these exotic species more able to compete and persist in that environment. Our results show that disturbed tropical rainforests with open canopies are susceptible to invasion and highlight the traits of exotic species which can invade rainforest habitats, and which may pose a threat to regenerating tropical rainforests