PARTNERS: University of North Carolina Asheville's National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC), Illinois State Museum, University of Missouri, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), South Florida Water Management District, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of California-Berkeley, USGS-EROS Data Center, Nanjing University, Taiwan National University, University of Georgia, Purdue University, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and other Forest Service units

SUMMARY: Identifying potentially invasive species is important and necessary to predict and manage their threat to forest health. Ecologists have generally agreed that there is no simple biological predictor of invasion success, but certain biological traits tend to be associated with invasion success more than others. Life history and genetic information are critical for developing early warning/prevention systems, predictive simulation models under various climatic scenarios, risk assessment, and management plans. The major questions to be addressed include: (1) What are the common and unique life history characteristics and traits of 4,000 plant species introduced into the United States? and (2) What kinds of species are most invasive and whether such invasiveness is related to particular life history/genetic traits? Scientists are compiling data for biological traits including life cycle, growth form, woodiness, deciduousness, pollinating agent, fruit type, dispersal agent, and photosynthetic pathway. Researchers will also collect information regarding introduction pathways and vectors, introduction time and locations, and current distribution.

EFETAC's ROLE: EFETAC and the National Science Foundation (NSF) are providing funding for an EFETAC staff member to conduct research in close collaboration with partners (listed above). Data are shared among collaborators and will be published as peer-reviewed articles or eventually deposited at EFETAC's website.

STATUS: Ongoing

PROGRESS: A large database is being built with the University of North Carolina Asheville's National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC). 

Guo, Q.F. 2011. Counting “exotics”. NeoBiota 9:71–73. (PDF)

Li, Z.Y., Q. Dong, T.P. Albright and Q.F. Guo. 2011. Natural and human dimensions of a quasi-wild species: the case of kudzu. Biological Invasions 13:2167–2179. (PDF)

Lian, H. and Q. Guo. 2010. Linking biotic homogenization to habitat type, invasiveness and growth form of naturalized alien plants in North America. Diversity & Distributions 16:119-125. (PDF)

Ricklefs, Robert E.; Guo, Qinfeng; and Hong Qian. 2008. Growth form and distribution of introduced plants in their native and non-native ranges in Eastern Asia and North America. Diversity and Distributions 14: 381-386. (PDF)

LINKS:

National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC)

Illinois State Museum

University of Missouri

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

South Florida Water Management District

Chinese Academy of Sciences

University of California-Berkeley

USGS-EROS Data Center

Nanjing University

Taiwan National University

University of Georgia

Purdue University

University of Tennessee-Knoxville

CONTACT: Qinfeng Guo, EFETAC Ecologist, qguo@fs.fed.us or 828-257-4246

Updated November 2011