Comparing naturalized alien plants and recipient habitats across an east-west gradient in the Mediterranean Basin

Journal of Biogeography

Volumn 37, Issue 9, 2010, Pages 1811-1823

  Arianoutsou, Margarita ^a   Delipetrou, Pinelopi ^a   Celesti Grapow, Laura ^b   Basnou, Corina ^c   Bazos, Ioannis ^a   Kokkoris, Yannis ^a   Blasi, Carlo ^b   Vilà, Montserrat ^d  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS   (Greece)

^b SAPIENZA UNIVERSITY OF ROME   (Italy)

^c UNIVERSITAT AUTÒNOMA DE BARCELONA   (Spain)

^d DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION BIOLOGY   (Spain)

Author keywords

Biological invasions; Biotic homogenization; European Mediterranean countries; Floristic similarity; Invasibility; Level of invasion; Naturalized plants; Plant traits

Indexed keywords

BIOLOGICAL INVASION; COMPARATIVE STUDY; FLORISTICS; HABITAT FRAGMENTATION; HERB; HOMOGENEITY; INVASIBILITY; LIFE HISTORY TRAIT;

CYPRUS; GREECE; ITALY; MEDITERRANEAN SEA; SPAIN;

EID: 77955651613     PISSN: 03050270     EISSN: 13652699     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02324.x     Document Type: Article

References (85)

1. Alpert P, Bone E, Holzapfel C. Invasiveness, invasibility and the role of environmental stress in the spread of non-native plants. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 2000, 3:52-66.
2. Arianoutsou M, Diamantopoulos J. Comparative phenology of five dominant plant species in maquis and phrygana ecosystems in Greece. Phyton (Austria) 1985, 25:77-85.
3. Arianoutsou M, Kokkoris Y, Andriopoulos P, Bazos I, Zikos A, Delipetrou D. Life history and habitat preferences of the alien plants in Greece. Proceedings of the MEDECOS XI 2007 Conference, 2-5 September, Perth, Australia 2007, 7-8. Rokich D, Wardell-Johnson G, Yates C, Stevens J, Dixon K, McLellan RMoss G. ed. by, Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Perth, Australia
4. Arianoutsou M, Bazos I, Delipetrou P, Kokkoris Y. The alien flora of Greece: taxonomy, life traits and habitat preferences. Biological Invasions 2010, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10530-010-9749-0, DOI:
5. Bazos I. Study of the flora and vegetation of Lesvos (East Aegean Islands, Greece) 2005, PhD Thesis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (in Greek with English summary)
6. Bazos I, Kokkoris Y, Zikos A, Andriopoulos P, Delipetrou P, Georghiou K, Yannitsaros A, Arianoutsou M. The alien vascular flora of Greece: floristic analysis and chorology. Bocconea 2009, 23:281-284.
7. Becker T, Dietz H, Billeter R, Buschmann H, Edwards PJ. Altitudinal distribution of alien plant species in the Swiss Alps. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 2005, 7:173-183.
8. Blasi C, Michetti L. Biodiversity and climate. Biodiversity in Italy 2007, 57-66. Blasi C, Boitani LLa Posta SManes FMarchetti M. ed. by, Palombi Editori, Rome
9. Blondel J, Aronson J. Biology and wildlife of the Mediterranean region 1999, Oxford University Press, Oxford
10. Blondel J, Médail F. Biodiversity and conservation. The physical geography of the Mediterranean 2009, 615-650. Woodward JC, ed. by, Oxford University Press, Oxford
11. Böhling N, Greuter W, Raus T. Zeigerwerte der Gefäßpflanzen der Südägäis (Griechenland) Braun-Blanquetia. Review of Geobotanical Monographs 2002, 32:1-108.
12. Bueno MA, Alba N, Grau JM, Manzarena JA. Spain places high priority on conservation of landscapes and forests. Diversity 1995, 11:87-88.
13. Castro SA, Muñoz M, Llovet-Doust J. Transit towards floristic homogenization on oceanic islands in the south-eastern Pacific: comparing pre-European and current floras. Journal of Biogeography 2007, 34:213-222.
14. Celesti-Grapow L, Alessandrini A, Arrigoni PV. The inventory of the non-native flora of Italy. Plant Biosystems 2009, 143:386-430.
15. Celesti-Grapow L, Alessandrini A, Arrigoni PV. Non-native flora of Italy: species distribution and threats. Plant Biosystems 2010, 144:12-28.
16. Chytrý M, Pyšek P, Tichý L, Knollová I, Danihelka J. Invasions by alien plants in the Czech Republic: a quantitative assessment across habitats. Preslia 2005, 77:339-354.
17. Chytrý M, Jarošík V, Pyšek P, Hájek O, Knollová I, Tichý L, Danihelka J. Separating habitat invasibility by alien plants from the actual level of invasion. Ecology 2008a, 89:1541-1553.
18. Chytrý M, Maskell LC, Pino J, Pyšek P, Vilà M, Font X, Smart SM. Habitat invasions by alien plants: a quantitative comparison between Mediterranean, subcontinental and oceanic regions of Europe. Journal of Applied Ecology 2008b, 45:448-458.
19. Chytrý M, Pyšek P, Wild J, Pino J, Maskell LC, Vilà M. European map of alien plant invasions based on the quantitative assessment across habitats. Diversity and Distributions 2009, 15:98-107.
20. Clarke KR, Gorley RN. PRIMER v6: User manual/tutorial 2006, PRIMER-E Ltd, Plymouth, UK
21. Cody ML. Diversity, rarity, and conservation in mediterranean-climate regions. Conservation biology: the science of scarcity and diversity 1986, 122-152. Soulé ME. ed. by, Sinauer, Sunderland, MA
22. Conti F, Abbate G, Alessandrini A, Blasi C. An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora 2005, Editore Palombi, Rome
23. Costa M, García-Antón M, Morla C, Sáiz H. La evolución de los bosques en la Península Ibérica. Ecología 1990, 1:32-43.
24. Cowling RM, Rundel PW, Lamont BB, Arroyo MK, Arianoutsou M. Plant diversity in mediterranean-climate regions. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 1996, 11:362-366.
25. Crawley MJ. What makes a community invasible? Colonization, succession and stability 1987, 429-453. Gray AJCrawley MJEdwards PJ. ed. by, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford
26. Crawley MJ, Harvey PH, Purvis A. Comparative ecology of the native and alien floras of the British Isles. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 1996, 351:1251-1259.
27. Dax T, Hovorka G. Trends der Regionalentwicklung der Berggebiete in Europa 2005, Online-Fachzeitschrift des Bundesministeriums für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Umwelt und Wasserwirtschaft, Wien
28. Delipetrou P, Makhzoumi J, Dimopoulos P, Georghiou K. Cyprus. Mediterranean island landscapes: natural and cultural approaches 2008, 170-203. Vogiatzakis IN, Pungetti G, Mannion AM, ed. by, Springer, London
29. Ellenberg H, Müller-Dombois D. A key to Raunkiaer plant life forms with revised subdivisions. Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes ETH Stiftung Rübel 1967, 37:56-73.
30. Ellenberg H, Weber HE, Düll R, Wirth V, Werner W, Paulißen D. Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa. Scripta Geobotanica 1992, 18:1-248.
31. Eurostat 2005, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu, Available at:
32. Foxcroft LC, Rouget M, Richardson DM. Risk assessment of riparian plant invasions into protected areas. Conservation Biology 2006, 21:412-421.
33. Gaertner M, Den Breeyen A, Hui C, Richardson DM. Impacts of alien plant invasions on species richness in Mediterranean-type ecosystems: a meta-analysis. Progress in Physical Geography 2009, 33:319-338.
34. Gassó N, Sol D, Pino J, Dana ED, Lloret F, Sanz-Elorza M, Sobrino E, Vilà M. Exploring species attributes and site characteristics to assess plant invasions in Spain. Diversity and Distributions 2009, 15:50-58.
35. Georgiadis ChCh. The adventive flora of Cyprus: taxonomic, floristic, phytogeographical and ecophysiological study 1994, PhD Thesis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens
36. Hadjikyriakou G. I chlorida tis Kyprou mesa apo katalogous kai eikones (The flora of Cyprus in catalogues and tables) 1997, Private Publication, Cyprus (in Greek)
37. Hulme PE. Invasions, islands and impacts: a Mediterranean perspective. Island ecology 2004, 337-361. Fernández-Palacios JMMorici C. ed. by, Asociación Española de Ecología Terrestre, La Laguna
38. Hulme PE. Biological invasions in Europe: drivers, pressures, states, impacts and responses. Biodiversity under threat. Issues in environmental science and technology 2007, 56-80. Hester RHarrison RM. ed. by, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge
39. 14° Censimento della popolazione e delle abitazioni 2001, http://www.istat.it/censimenti/popolazione, Istituto nazionale di statistica (ISTAT), Rome, Available at: (accessed 12 November 2007)
40. Annuario statistico italiano 2008, Istituto nazionale di statistica (ISTAT), Rome
41. Jenness D. The economics of Cyprus. A survey to 1914 1962, McGill University Press, Montreal
42. Jiménez A, Pauchard A, Cavieres L, Marticorena A, Bustamante R. Do climatically similar regions contain similar alien floras? A comparison between the mediterranean areas of central Chile and California. Journal of Biogeography 2008, 35:614-624.
43. Kühn I, Klotz S. Urbanization and homogenization - comparing the floras of urban and rural areas in Germany. Biological Conservation 2006, 127:292-300.
44. Lambdon PW, Hulme PE. How strongly do interactions with closely-related native species influence plant invasions? Darwin's naturalization hypothesis assessed on Mediterranean islands. Journal of Biogeography 2006, 33:1116-1125.
45. Lambdon PW, Lloret F, Hulme PE. Do alien plants on Mediterranean islands tend to invade different niches from native species? Biological Invasions 2008a, 10:703-716.
46. Lambdon PW, Basnou C, Hejda M. Alien flora of Europe: species diversity, temporal trends, geographical patterns and research needs. Preslia 2008b, 80:101-149.
47. Lloret F, Médail F, Brundu G, Camarda I, Moragues E, Rita J, Lambdon P, Hulme PE. Species attributes and invasion success by alien plants on Mediterranean islands. Journal of Ecology 2005, 93:512-520.
48. Madon PG. Forest conservancy in the island of Cyprus 1881, Reprinted at the, Government Printing Office, Nicosia, Cyprus, 1930
49. Mallen-Cooper J, Pickering CM. Linear declines in exotic and native plant species richness along an increasing altitudinal gradient in the Snowy Mountains, Australia. Austral Ecology 2008, 33:684-690.
50. Marini L, Gaston K, Prosser F, Hulme PE. Contrasting response of native and alien plant species richness to environmental energy and human impact along alpine elevation gradients. Global Ecology and Biogeography 2009, 18:652-661.
51. McKinney ML. Do exotics homogenize or differentiate communities? Roles of sampling and exotic species richness. Biological Invasions 2004, 6:495-504.
52. Médail F, Quézel P. Hot-spots analysis for conservation of plant biodiversity in the Mediterranean Basin. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 1997, 84:112-127.
53. Greece in numbers 2005, National Statistical Service of Greece (NSSG), Pireas, Greece
54. Ninyerola M, Pons X, Roure JM. Atlas climático digital de la Península Ibérica. Metodología y aplicaciones en bioclimatología y geobotánica 2005, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
55. Olden JD, Poff NL, Douglas MR, Douglas ME, Fausch KD. Ecological and evolutionary consequences of biotic homogenization. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 2004, 19:18-24.
56. Palmer MW. Scale dependence of native and alien species richness in North American Floras. Preslia 2006, 78:427-436.
57. Pauchard A, Alaback PB. Influence of elevation, land use, and landscape context on patterns of alien plant invasions along roadsides in protected areas of south-central Chile. Conservation Biology 2004, 18:238-248.
58. Pauchard A, Cavieres L, Bustamante R. Comparing alien plant invasions across spatial scales. Biological Invasions 2004, 8:399-413.
59. Planty-Tabacchi AM, Tabacchi E, Naiman RJ, Deferrari C, Décamps H. Invasibility of species-rich communities in riparian zones. Conservation Biology 1996, 10:598-607.
60. Preston FW. The canonical distribution of commonness and rarity. Ecology 1962, 43:185-215.
61. Pyšek P, Richardson DM, Rejmánek M, Webster GL, Williamson M, Kirschner J. Alien plants in checklists and floras: towards better communication between taxonomists and ecologists. Taxon 2004, 53:131-143.
62. Pyšek P, Lambdon PW, Arianoutsou M, Kühn I, Pino J, Winter M. Alien vascular plants of Europe. Handbook of alien species in Europe 2009, 43-61. ed. by, Springer, Dordrecht
63. Raunkiaer C. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography 1934, Clarendon Press, Oxford
64. Raunkiaer C. Plant life forms 1937, Oxford University Press, Oxford
65. Rejmánek M. Invasive plant species and invasible ecosystems. Invasive species and biodiversity management 1999, 79-102. Sandlund OTSchei PJViken A. ed. by, Kluwer, Dordrecht
66. Population statistics, Series II. Demographic report 2008 2009, Report No. 46, Republic of Cyprus Statistical Service, Lefkosia
67. Richardson DM, Pyšek P. Plant invasions: merging the concepts of species invasiveness and community invasibility. Progress in Physical Geography 2006, 30:409-431.
68. Rivas-Martínez S, Penas A, Díaz TE. Biogeographic map of Europe 1:16,000,000 Spain 2001, University of León
69. Rodríguez-Labajos B, Binimelis R, Monterroso I. Multi-level driving forces of biological invasions. Ecological Economics 2009, 69:63-75.
70. Saccardo PA. Cronologia della flora italiana 1909, Tipografia del Seminario, Padova
71. Sádlo J, Chytrý M, Pyšek P. Regional species pools of vascular plants in habitats of the Czech Republic. Preslia 2007, 79:303-321.
72. Sax DF, Stachowicz JJ, Gaines SD. Species invasions: insights into ecology, evolution and biogeography 2005, Sinauer, Sunderland, MA
73. STATISTICA v. 7 2004, StatSoft Inc., Tulsa, OK
74. Stevens PF. Angiosperm phylogeny website. 2001, http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb, onwards, Version 7, May 2006. Available at:
75. Stohlgren TJ, Barnett DT, Kartesz JT. The rich get richer: patterns of plant invasions in the United States. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2003, 1:11-14.
76. Strid A, Tan K. Flora Hellenica 1997, Vol. 1, Koeltz Scientific Books, Königstein
77. Tan K, Iatrou G. Endemic plants of Greece, The Peloponnese 2001, Gads Publishers, Copenhagen
78. Thirgood JV. Cyprus, a chronicle of its forests, land, and people 1987, University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver
79. World population prospects. The 2004 revision. Highlights 2005, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York
80. Valladares F, Peñuelas J, De Luis-Calabuig E. Impactos sobre los ecosistemas terrestres. Evaluación preliminar de los impactos en España del cambio climático (ECCE) 2005, 65-112. pp, Ministerio de Medio Ambiente, Madrid, Spain
81. Vilà M, Muñoz I. Patterns and correlates of exotic and endemic plant species in the Balearic islands. Ecologia Mediterranea 1999, 25:153-161.
82. Vilà M, Pujadas J. Land-use and socio-economic correlates of plant invasions in European and North African countries. Biological Conservation 2001, 100:397-401.
83. Vilà M, Pino J, Font X. Regional assessment of plant invasions across different habitat types. Journal of Vegetation Science 2007, 18:35-42.
84. Vilà M, Basnou C, Pyšek P, Josefsson M, Genovesi P, Gollasch S, Nentwig W, Olenin S, Roques A, Roy D, Hulme PE. How well do we understand the impacts of alien species on ecosystem services? A pan-European cross-species assessment. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2010, 8:135-144.
85. Winter M, Schweiger O, Klotz S, Nentwig W, Andriopoulos P, Arianoutsou M, Basnou C, Delipetrou P, Didziulis V, Hejda M, Hulme PE, Lambdon P, Pergl J, Pyšek P, Roy DB, Kühn I. Plant extinctions and introductions lead to phylogenetic and taxonomic homogenization of the European flora. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 2009, 106:21721-21725.