Study links plant invasions to less stable plant communities
A peer-reviewed study in Nature Communications reports that plant invasions make plant communities less stable over time. The effect appears from local scales up to metacommunity scales.
The authors say invasions erode functional diversity and favour fast-growing plant strategies. They link these changes to the loss of stability. The study reports an association, not proof of cause. Details such as the sample size and the regions studied were not available, so the findings may not apply to South African vegetation.