Study of Plant Physiology Hopes to Contribute to Understanding of Which Exotic Species will Become Invasive, as well as How Global Climate Change Might Change Plant Communities containing Exotic Species
Study of Plant Physiology Hopes to Contribute to Understanding of Which Exotic Species will Become Invasive, as well as How Global Climate Change Might Change Plant Communities containing Exotic Species. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
'About one quarter of the plant species in Great Smoky Mountains National Park are not native to this area, or even to this continent. Most of these are limited to disturbed sites, such as road sides and old homesteads, and do not out-compete native species in more intact natural areas. A small handful of species have the capacity to invade natural areas and completely overwhelm natural communities, requiring the park to spend 10s of thousands of dollars each year to control them. Predicted changes in climate could farther exacerbate this situation, potentially turning innocuous exotic plant species into efficient invaders. A lot of money and effort could be saved if park managers could predict which exotic species were likely to become invasive so that they could be controlled before they spread.'
- Type
- Generic Document
- Units
- GRSM
- Keywords
- Climate Change, Communities, Exotic Species, Invasive Plants, Photosynthetic Activity, Plant Studies