Invasive plants present significant threats to native ecosystems across the United States. For example, in the Western U.S., the quick-growing invasive cheatgrass is expanding and intensifying wildfire seasons. In the Eastern U.S., invasive kudzu vines cover landscapes, smothering and killing most of the plants it encounters. Altogether, the United States contains over 1800 invasive plants, begging the question of how invasive species as a whole are impacting our ecosystems, and what those larger-scale impacts mean for invasive species managers. 

In this Powell Center working group, researchers have been investigating broad-scale patterns of invasive plant biology and ecology across the United States, to inform understanding of invasive species, and aid in the development of successful invasive species management strategies. To date, the group has compiled and analyzed a plant community dataset from over 75,000 plots, resulting in key publications on the geography of invasive plants, determinants of invasive plant abundance, and shifts of plant traits due to invasive species. Learn more about this effort through the links below. 

Background: A cheatgrass-invaded habitat.