Botany is the Root and the Future of Invasion Biology

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-2021

Abstract

Although botanists have been at the center of invasion biology since its inception, few botanists identify as invasion biologists. Of those few, many primarily ally with associated disciplines such as weed science and agronomy. The modern field of invasion biology—the study of the introduction, establishment, evolution, and control of non-native species—was formally established when zoologist Charles Elton proposed his biodiversity-invasibility hypothesis (Elton, 1958) and has since been largely dominated by zoologists. However, plants have proven to be tractable systems for both experimental and observational studies and have played an outsized role in addressing long-standing hypotheses in invasion biology (Fig. 1). Here, we briefly review the historic and contemporary contributions that botanists have made in invasion biology and argue that botanists will continue to play a critical role in revolutionizing invasion biology.

Publication Title

American Journal of Botany

Volume

118

Issue

4

First Page

549

Last Page

552

DOI of Published Version

10.1002/ajb2.1642

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