Global Impacts of Invasive Plant Species in Forest Ecosystems

Invasive species are spreading geographically and multiplying on a global scale. The ability of these organisms to retain high fecundity while adjusting to a variety of novel conditions in new environments is remarkable. Key natural resources can be impacted and destroyed by invasive species, which can cause huge societal and environmental problems. Invasive alien plant species are encroaching on forest ecosystems across the world. There are increasing instances globally where these invasive plants, as well as invertebrate and vertebrate herbivores and predators, and microbes, have drastically altered how forested ecosystems work. Such disturbances can have large-scale and long-term effects on forest processes, posing challenges such as species competition, disease transmission, and hybridization.

The spread of new invasive species has coincided with human migration patterns, and this has resulted in the extinction of native species. As new invading species arrive, continents can initially have more species, but the displacement and extinction of native species brought about by invasive species can ultimately result in a decline in the number of species worldwide. Changes in phenology and distribution are also being experienced by invasive species, which could make native species even more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In order to better understand existing and potential invasive species, their impacts, and the best management techniques and policy options to prevent more disturbance in forest ecosystems, substantial efforts are being undertaken.

This Research Topic focuses on the impacts of invasive plant species in forest ecosystems. The aim is to present novel interdisciplinary studies that address adaptation mechanisms, distribution patterns, and management and policy issues related to such disturbances. A consideration of these impacts in an aboveground-belowground context will improve predictions of future adaptations of forests to invaders, as well as management and restoration efforts. This Research Topic invites high-quality research articles and reviews that can address knowledge gaps and enable the improved management of forest ecosystems under the influence of global plant invasions, with the ultimate goal of exchanging ideas among academicians, researchers and policymakers, and highlighting methods and case studies of sustainable use techniques, management, policy initiatives and research into invasion ecology.