Effect of alien riparian vegetation and its removal on a highly endemic river macroinvertebrate community

Invasive alien trees along river banks can reduce indigenous biodiversity, while their removal can restore it. We assessed here family- and species-level responses of river benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages to three riparian vegetation types (natural, alien trees, cleared of alien trees) in the Cape Floristic Region biodiversity hotspot. High species beta diversity of this highly endemic fauna meant that between-river, as well as seasonal effects, dominated assemblage patterns. SASS5, a qualitative, rapid bioassessment technique, based on the sensitivity of the families present, was used as a measure of river health and, indirectly, of water quality. SASS indicated a decline in water quality conditions after alien clearing, a likely response to the greater insolation and apparent erosion of cleared banks, resulting in elevated temperatures and suspended solids and lowered oxygen levels. Overall, cleared and natural sites were more similar to each other than to alien sites, suggesting some post-clearing recovery. However, many sensitive, endemic taxa survived in alien-invaded sites, and more than in the natural sites. These endemic species made use of shady, cool, high-oxygen levels under the alien tree canopy. However, endemics declined in overall abundance in sites cleared of aliens, being replaced by more tolerant, widespread taxa. Clearance of the alien trees opened up the rivers to sunny conditions, which had a major impact on community composition. Vegetation types, oxygen levels and river width were important environmental variables affecting these macroinvertebrate responses. Re-establishment of invertebrate biodiversity matched that of indigenous vegetation, with the most sensitive endemic taxa only recovering after establishment of bushy indigenous and shade-producing fynbos. Therefore, for biodiversity conservation objectives to be achieved, it is essential that indigenous plants are maintained and encouraged during and after clearing to ensure the recovery of endemic and sensitive taxa.     

Profiling a besieged flora: endemic and threatened plants of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa

The Cape Peninsula (area: 471 km²), situated at the south-western extremity of the Cape Floristic Region, has exceptionally high plant species richness (2285 species and infraspecific taxa) and numbers of endemic (90; 88 species and two infraspecific) and threatened (141; 138 species and three infraspecific) taxa (termed species from here on). This biodiversity is threatened by urban development and the spread of invasive alien plants. Peninsula endemics are concentrated in a few, predominantly species-rich families and these correspond well with endemic-rich families in other areas of the Cape Floristic Region. A high level of similarity exists between families with threatened and families with endemic species. A frequency analysis of the biological traits of both endemic and threatened species shows that low growing, ant-dispersed shrubs are over-represented in both groups. Endemics are most likely to be non-sprouters, but threatened plants do not have a specific post-fire regeneration strategy. Threatened species have higher frequencies of geophytes, sprouters and wind-dispersed species compared to endemic species. Numbers of endemic and threatened species are not randomly distributed with regard to occurrence in vegetation types and patterns are similar for both groups. The habitat and biological profiles of both endemic and threatened species suggest that they are highly vulnerable to extinction as a result of increasing rates of alien plant infestation, urbanization and inappropriate fire regimes.     

Plant species diversity,community structure and invasion status in insular primary forests on the Sekimon uplifted limestone (Ogasawara Islands)

Native forests on oceanic islands are among the most threatened ecosystems. The forests formed on Sekimon uplifted limestone in Haha-jima Island (Ogasawara Islands) have not yet been destroyed by human activities and remain as primary forests harboring several narrow endemic endangered plants. In this paper, we described the plant species diversity, community structure, and status of invasion by alien plants in the mesic forests of Sekimon. The Sekimon forest was characterized by low tree diversity (37 species), high stem density (1731 ha^?1), and high basal area (63.9 m² ha^?1), comparing with natural forests in world islands. The forests were dominated in the number of stems by the sub-tree Ardisia sieboldii followed by the trees Pisonia umbellifera and Elaeocarpus photiniifolius. The invasive tree Bischofia javanica ranked fourth for basal area and third for the number of stems (DBH?≥?10 cm), and its distribution expanded, especially near a past plantation site. Surveys of forest floor vegetation revealed that species richness of vascular plants was 109 species and that many alien plants had already invaded the forests. Despite the low species richness of alien (16% for vascular flora and 8% for trees), the high frequency of aliens on the forest floor suggests that they have colonized successfully in the Sekimon forest. Extrapolation analysis based on the rarefaction curves predicted that the vascular plants in the Sekimon (25 ha) accounted for 135 species (29.9% of the vascular flora of the Ogasawara Islands) and endemic plants were 85 species (62.0%). The fact that the 39 vascular species recorded in our plots were listed in Japanese Red List suggests that the Sekimon forest should be conserved as a sanctuary of biodiversity. Because alien plants are invading the forests without apparent anthropogenic disturbance, immediate action to eradicate these invaders is highly needed.     

Commercially Important Trees as Invasive Aliens – Towards Spatially Explicit Risk Assessment at a National Scale

Alien species that are desirable and commercially important in parts of the landscape, but damaging invaders in other parts, present a special challenge for managers, planners, and policy-makers. Objective methods are needed for identifying areas where control measures should be focussed. We analysed the distribution of forestry plantations and invasive (self-sown) stands of Acacia mearnsii and Pinus spp. in South Africa; these two taxa account for 60% of the area under commercial plantations and 54% of the area invaded by alien trees and shrubs. The distribution of commercial forestry plantations and invasive stands of these taxa were mapped and the data was digitised and stored as Geographic Information System (GIS) (Arc/Info) layers. A series of environmental parameters were derived from GIS layers of climate, topography, geology, land use, and natural vegetation. The current distribution of the two taxa was subdivided into three groups according to the degree of invasion, planting history and the precision of the data collection. We used regression-tree analysis to relate, for each taxon, the distribution of invasive stands with environmental variables, and to derive habitat suitability maps for future invasion. The current distribution of invasive stands in South Africa was largely influenced by climatic factors. At a national scale, the distribution of large commercial plantations was a poor predictor of areas invaded by both taxa. Using environmental factors identified by the regression trees, we found that 6.6% and 9.8% of natural habitats currently not invaded and untransformed by urbanisation or agriculture are suitable for invasion by Pinus spp. and A. mearnsii, respectively. We then derived guidelines for policy on alien plant management based on vegetation type, degree of transformation, extent of invasion, and the risk of future alien spread. These factors were used to identify demarcated areas where these alien species can be grown with little risk of invasions, and areas where special measures are needed to manage spread from plantations.     

Plant invasions in arid areas: special problems and solutions: a South African perspective

Management of invasive alien plants in arid areas is complicated by the cryptic and stochastic nature of the invasion process, the low density of researchers, extension officers and farmers in these areas, the complex, delayed and sometimes, indirect, effects of alien invasive plants on these ecosystems, and by high and shifting values placed on goods and services derived from invasive alien plant species. Fluctuating vegetation cover together with convergent adaptations for dispersal and facilitation enables some desert aliens to invade intact vegetation. Invasive plants in arid areas are not all arid-adapted: the most problematic species globally are phreatic, wetland or oasis specialists that can colonise remote wetlands and springs through a combination of wind-dispersed seeds and vegetative reproduction. Their success is often linked to disturbance and facilitated by agricultural activities including water extraction, cropping and livestock management. Invasive alien plants in arid region wetlands have an impact on forage, water resources and biodiversity in these key resource areas, that is disproportionately great relative to the area they occupy. Management of arid region aliens could include pre-introduction biocontrol planning that makes it possible to use aliens while reducing invasion risks. An alternative is to replace the aliens with extralimital indigenous plants that can supply the rangeland services perceived to be absent from arid environments—but such interventions may carry even greater risks.     

Potential impacts of future land use and climate change on the Red List status of the Proteaceae in the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa

Using spatial predictions of future threats to biodiversity, we assessed for the first time the relative potential impacts of future land use and climate change on the threat status of plant species. We thus estimated how many taxa could be affected by future threats that are usually not included in current IUCN Red List assessments. Here, we computed the Red List status including future threats of 227 Proteaceae taxa endemic to the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa, and compared this with their Red List status excluding future threats. We developed eight different land use and climate change scenarios for the year 2020, providing a range of best‐ to worst‐case scenarios. Four scenarios include only the effects of future land use change, while the other four also include the impacts of projected anthropogenic climate change (HadCM2 IS92a GGa), using niche‐based models. Up to a third of the 227 Proteaceae taxa are uplisted (become more threatened) by up to three threat categories if future threats as predicted for 2020 are included, and the proportion of threatened Proteaceae taxa rises on average by 9% (range 2–16%), depending on the scenario. With increasing severity of the scenarios, the proportion of Critically Endangered taxa increases from about 1% to 7% and almost 2% of the 227 Proteaceae taxa become Extinct because of climate change. Overall, climate change has the most severe effects on the Proteaceae, but land use change also severely affects some taxa. Most of the threatened taxa occur in low‐lying coastal areas, but the proportion of threatened taxa changes considerably in inland mountain areas if future threats are included. Our approach gives important insights into how, where and when future threats could affect species persistence and can in a sense be seen as a test of the value of planned interventions for conservation.     

Comparative footprint of alien, agricultural and restored vegetation on surface-active arthropods

Both invasive alien trees and agricultural conversion have major impacts on biodiversity. We studied here the comparative impact of these two types of land transformation on a wide range of surface-active arthropod species using pitfall traps, with evergreen sclerophyllous natural vegetation (fynbos) as the control. The study was in the Cape Floristic Region, a global biodiversity hotspot, where alien trees are of major concern and where vineyards replace natural fynbos vegetation. Surface-active arthropods were selected as they are species rich, relatively immobile, and occur in high abundance. We hypothesized that the impact of the two types of land cover transformation would produce similar qualitative and quantitative effects on the arthropods. We also compared the results in the transformed and natural areas with those in areas cleared of alien trees. Arthropod species richness in cleared areas was higher than in vineyards and more similar to that in natural fynbos, while alien trees had the lowest. Overall abundance scores were highest in cleared areas, closely followed by fynbos, then vineyards and lowest in alien trees. Several species were restricted to each vegetation type, including alien trees. In terms of assemblage composition, all vegetation types were significantly different, although fynbos and vineyards grouped, suggesting that vineyards have less impact on the arthropod community than do alien trees. When rare species were excluded, vineyards and cleared sites grouped, indicating some recovery but only involving those species that were common and habitat tolerant. Our results suggest that vineyards retain a greater complement of indigenous species than alien trees, but that clearing of these aliens soon encourages establishment of indigenous species. Although there were significant differences in soil moisture and litter depth within and between vegetation types, we did not record them as significantly affecting species richness or abundance, even in alien vegetation, an encouraging sign for restoration.     

110000 years of Quaternary beetle diversity change

Our first aim was to document the effects of palaeotemperatures and vegetation changes on beetle assemblages, and secondly to determine the extent to which surrogacy analysis at the family taxonomic level reveals patterns evident from lower taxa analysis. The sedimentary sequence sampled on the experimental site of La Grande Pile (Vosges, France) covers the whole of the last climatic cycle. Beetle fragments were extracted from 39 coring samples and identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level. A total of 3092 beetle specimens belonging to 394 taxa were identified, more than half to species level. Carabidae, Staphylinidae and Curculionidae families together represented 40% of the overall taxa richness. Beetle taxa richness and assemblage composition varied markedly over time. Average summer temperatures clearly play a major role in diversity patterns, as temperature was positively correlated with taxon richness. Nevertheless, the warmest and the coldest periods were not the richest and the poorest, respectively, and the most humid period did not correspond to maximum beetle richness. Beetle assemblages are likely to fluctuate in response to other factors such as plant diversity and vegetation structure. Steppe-like vegetation did not reduce species richness while dense, homogenous and closed forests did. Family patterns mirrored those observed at the lower taxa level. This makes the family level a convincing alternative to lower taxonomic level analyses by representing a faithful picture of changing beetle diversity over a long period of time. Finally, evolution of beetle diversity over the Quaternary represents a convincing model for evaluating the effect of close and wide past climate changes, and for assisting in management of present-day biodiversity as part of the current anthropogenic global climate change.     

The Cape Peninsula, South Africa: physiographical, biological and historical background to an extraordinary hot-spot of biodiversity

The Cape Peninsula, a 470 km² area of rugged scenery and varied climate, is located at the southwestern tip of the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa. The Peninsula is home to 2285 plant species and is a globally important hot-spot of biodiversity for higher plants and invertebrates. This paper provides a broad overview of the physiography, biological attributes and history of human occupation of the Peninsula. The Peninsula is characterized physiographically by extremely high topographical heterogeneity, very long and steep gradients in annual rainfall, and a great diversity of nutrient-poor soils. Thus, the Peninsula supports a high number of habitats and ecological communities. The predominant vegetation is fynbos, a fire-prone shrubland, and 12 broadly characterized fynbos types have been described on the Peninsula. Animal community structure, especially with regard to invertebrates, is poorly known. Vertebrate community structure is probably strongly influenced by nutrient poverty and recurrent fire. Generally, most vertebrates are small and typically occur in low numbers. Some invertebrates play keystone roles in facilitating ecological processes. Human occupation of the Peninsula was limited, until relatively recently, by nutrient poverty. After Dutch colonization in 1652, direct and indirect impacts on the natural ecosystems of the Peninsula escalated dramatically, and by 1994, some 65% of original natural habitat was either transformed by urbanization and agriculture, or invaded by alien plants. Nonetheless, there is still excellent potential to conserve the Cape Peninsula's remaining biodiversity.     

Alien flora of the Korean Peninsula

The Korean Peninsula has been divided into the countries of North and South Korea since 1948. This adoption of different political and socio-economic regimes has significantly changed economic activity and international exchange by those nations, thus affecting the introduction of alien plants. Our study objective was to provide a comprehensive, up-to-date inventory of the alien flora on the Korean Peninsula and to analyse how the partitioning between North and South Korea has influenced the numbers and status of those alien plants. We identified pre-1876 aliens that were brought to the Korean Peninsula before 1876, when Korea opened up to foreign countries, and also determined the post-1876 aliens that were introduced after 1876. Plants in the latter group were further classified into those that arrived before the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 (1876–1950 aliens) and those introduced since then (post-1950 aliens). We investigated the regions of origin, family compositions, and invasion status of those alien taxa. In total, 504 alien taxa were identified, with 102 taxa being pre-1876 and 117 being 1876–1950 aliens. After the Korean War, the number of alien plants in South Korea more than doubled (276 taxa), whereas the number reported for North Korea was considerably lower (33 taxa). This might be due to enhanced economic activity and a larger human population in South Korea. Climatic differences as well as variations in the recording intensity for alien flora between North and South Korea may also have contributed to the large contrast in numbers of new alien species recorded during the last decades. Coordinated measures between the two nations are necessary if the spread of invasive alien plants onto the Korean Peninsula is to be reduced.     

Age structure,growth performance and composition of native and invasive Salicaceae in Patagonia

In northern Patagonia, riparian ecosystems are highly modified due to alien plant invasions. The establishment of non-native willows and poplars has unknown effects for Salix humboldtiana, the only native floodplain tree species in this region. To clarify establishment processes and to assess whether interspecific competition among the Salicaceae taxa may occur and therefore whether the native species can coexist in the long term, we analysed age structure and growth performances of the dominant four taxa within mixed adult forest stands along the Río Negro, Argentina. Low mean ages of <15 years for all four taxa within 20 stands could be detected and suggest frequent and severe disturbances resulting in the removal of existing vegetation and subsequent creation of sites for establishment. Trees of the same stand showed the same age structure indicating joint establishment events with all taxa involved. A significant better growth performance (basal area, crown diameter) could be proved for the invasive willows. Considering the upper and middle river separately in a total of 88 studied plots, S. humboldtiana was more frequent at the middle river stretch, while invasive willows showed an opposing pattern suggesting a downstream directed invasion process. The results showed that competition pressure in mature mixed stands could affect S. humboldtiana. However, these stands are usually removed by river dynamics creating new sediment bars and islands. These processes enable S. humboldtiana seeds to germinate frequently which may compensate for its inferior growth performance and potential impacts by the invasive willows and poplars.     

Invasibility of a coastal strip in NE Spain by alien plants

Abstract. The alien plant species and the ecological factors that facilitate their invasion to a coastal strip in the Baix Camp region (Tarragona, NE Spain) were studied. A detailed inventory of the area showed that 20% of the plant species, most of them from the American Continent, were aliens, many of which were strongly invasive. At the habitat level, the relationships between the invasive behaviour and a number of autecological, ecological and habitat variables were analysed by means of logistic analyses. In the best model five variables were related to alien plant invasions: climatic affinity, disturbance of the invaded habitat, route of introduction, soil moisture during summer, and life form. To elucidate the environmental factors that could be responsible for alien plant invasions at a regional scale, the number of alien taxa and the environmental features at 13 localities of the western Mediterranean area were analysed. The warm lowlands, subjected to low annual rainfall and high population density, exhibited the greatest reception capacity for alien plants. It is concluded that various specific environmental features – high mean temperatures, the abundance of riparian systems, the existence of biotopes with favourable water balance which harbour a great richness of alien species and the high human pressure to which the enclave is subjected, combined with the ecological requirements of the alien species and certain species attributes (biotype) can interact at different scales and have caused the over‐representation of alien plants.     

Forest responses to the large-scale east coast fires in Korea

The east coast forest fires of April 2000 were Koreas largest recorded fires. This, along with the fact that they took place in the region most frequently affected by fire, attracted a great deal of attention. Due to the variations in wind, topography and pre-fire forest stands, a heterogeneous landscape mosaic of burn severity was created across the region. It turned out to be an excellent opportunity to study various landscape-scale impacts of fires on forest dynamics. Therefore, we investigated stands in the 23794ha of burned forest region, in terms of burn severity, vegetation regeneration and forested landscape change as a measure of community stability. Using the geographic information system technique, we analyzed the differential severity and post-fire recovery of pre-fire forest types of different stand age both at stand and species level. Analysis showed that pre-fire vegetation was composed of mainly pine (Pinus densiflora) stands that occupied 70% of the whole forested area, while pine-hardwood and hardwood stands occupied only 28% and 3%, respectively. In addition, two-thirds of all stands were less than 30-years-old. Pine stands were the most severely burned, while conversely pine-hardwood and hardwood stands were less vulnerable. This implied that pine forests had fire-prone characteristics. Vegetation recovery went the opposite way; that is, the regenerating vegetation cover was 71% at pre-fire hardwood stands, and 65% and 53% at pine-hardwood and pine stands, respectively. However, these recovery rates were strikingly fast, considering that investigation took place about 3months after the fires. Fire did not initiate successional processes, but tended to accelerate the predicted successional changes by releasing pre-fire understory species that survived the fires and regenerated by sprouting. The dominant pre-fire tree species (P. densiflora) was susceptible to fire and not resilient enough to reestablish in competition with oak species. Contrary to pines, the abilities of oak species, mainly Quercus mongolica and Q. variabilis, to survive fires and to resprout vigorously made them dominant at most post-fire stands. These shifts in species abundance caused drastic changes to the landscape: from pine-dominated to oak-dominated stands without any notable change in species composition. The patterns in forest regeneration that we observed in Korea may be representative of forest responses to any long-term repeated disturbances, including fire.     

Use of vegetation classification and plant indicators to assess grazing abandonment in Estonian coastal wetlands

Question: What are the effects of grazing abandonment on the vegetation composition of Estonian coastal wetlands? Location: Vormsi Island and Silma Nature Reserve in western Estonia, Europe. Methods: Local knowledge and field reconnaissance were used to identify current and historical management levels of wetland sites within the west Estonian study area. Nine study sites, with varying management histories, were selected comprising an area of 287 ha. A total of 198 quadrats were taken from 43 distinct vegetation patches in five of the sites. TWINSPAN analysis was used to identify community type, and a phytosociological key was constructed for character taxa. This vegetation classification was then applied within a GIS‐based context to classify all the study sites, using a ground survey technique and 1:2000 scale air photos. Results: We identified 11 different brackish coastal wetland community types. Indicator species were defined with community characteristics for the seven main vegetation types readily recognisable in the field. Coastal wet grasslands were most extensive in grazed sites, or sites that had been more intensively grazed, while abandoned sites were largely composed of Phragmites australis stands, tall grassland, and scrub. Site variations based on vegetation composition were significantly correlated with past grazing intensity. Plant community types showed significant edaphic differences, with particularly low soil moisture and high conductivity and pH for open pioneer patches compared to other vegetation types. Conclusion: Abandonment of traditionally grazed coastal grasslands threatens their characteristic biodiversity. This study found that grazing abandonment reduced the extent of coastal wetland grasslands of particular conservation value. Nevertheless, plant species of conservation interest were found across the sequence of community types described. The study shows that grazing is an important factor influencing coastal wetland plant communities but suggests that vegetation distribution is affected by environmental variables, such as topography.     

The EICAT+ framework enables classification of positive impacts of alien taxa on native biodiversity

Species introduced through human-related activities beyond their native range, termed alien species, have various impacts worldwide. The IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) is a global standard to assess negative impacts of alien species on native biodiversity. Alien species can also positively affect biodiversity (for instance, through food and habitat provisioning or dispersal facilitation) but there is currently no standardized and evidence-based system to classify positive impacts. We fill this gap by proposing EICAT+, which uses 5 semiquantitative scenarios to categorize the magnitude of positive impacts, and describes underlying mechanisms. EICAT+ can be applied to all alien taxa at different spatial and organizational scales. The application of EICAT+ expands our understanding of the consequences of biological invasions and can inform conservation decisions.

Various schemes assess negative impacts of alien species on native biodiversity, but alien species can also positively affect biodiversity. This Consensus View proposes EICAT+, a scheme which uses five semi-quantitative scenarios to categorise positive impacts, describes underlying mechanisms, and can be applied to all alien taxa and across various invasion contexts.     

Biogeography and species richness of endophagous insects associated with Proteaceae in South Africa

The endophagous insects associated with Proteaceae of the Cape fynbos were compared to endophage assemblages from more northern non-Capensis Proteaceae. Insects were collected from Proteaceae in the Cape on a regular basis and additional records obtained from insect collections. Northern samples were collected more opportunistically or records were obtained from collections or through personal communication. The Cape fynbos genus Protea is utilized by many more insect taxa than the non-fynbos Protea species. The fynbos Proteaceae has very few species in common with the northern Proteaceae, yet each has many of their own distinct species. This suggests that the fynbos endophage insect fauna is distinct from that of the other regions. It appears that the high diversity of host plants in the fynbos has contributed to generating high, local endophagous insect diversity.     

Old-growth red spruce communities in the mid-Appalachians

Old-growth stands of red spruce (Picea rubens) were sampled at the only four localities in the mountains of southwestern Virginia and central West Virginia where examples of such are known to exist. Based upon mean ages (±SE) of cored trees, sampled stands ranged in age from 164±18 to 201±10 yr. Dendro-ecological (tree-ring) analysis showed a marked decline in growth of trees at three localities during the late 1800s, followed by recovery to previous levels of growth within two decades. This growth-trend decline generally coincides with a period of extensive mortality of red spruce reported to have occurred in central West Virginia. Basal area of trees 2.5 cm DBH ranged from 35.4 to 46.1 m²/ha. These figures are considerably lower than those recorded at earlier dates for similar old-growth stands in the Appalachians, which suggests that a general decline has occurred over the last half-century.     

Effects of alien pine plantations on small mammal community structure in a southern African biodiversity hotspot

Commercial plantations and alien tree invasions often have substantial negative impacts on local biodiversity. The effect of plantations on faunal communities in the fire‐adapted fynbos vegetation of the Cape Floristic Region biodiversity hotspot is not yet well quantified. We studied small mammal community structure in alien Pinus radiata plantations and adjacent fynbos regenerating after clear‐felling of plantations on the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. Small mammal sampling over 1,800 trap‐nights resulted in 480 captures of 345 individuals (excluding recaptures) representing six species. Significantly more species, individuals (12 X) and biomasses (29 X) of small mammals occurred on recovering fynbos sites compared to plantations. This was commensurate with a higher diversity of plant growth forms, vegetation densities and live vegetation biomass. Only one small mammal species, the pygmy mouse (Mus minutoides), was consistently trapped within plantations. Fynbos sites were dominated by three small mammal species that are ecological generalists and early successional pioneer species, rendering the recovering fynbos slightly depauperate in terms of species richness and evenness relative to other studies done in pristine fynbos. We make three recommendations for forestry that would facilitate the restoration of more diverse natural plant communities and progressively more diverse and dynamic small mammal assemblages in a key biodiversity hotspot.     

Biomass allocation,morphology and photosynthesis of invasive and noninvasive exotic species grown at four irradiance levels

We tested the hypotheses that invasive species had higher irradiance plasticity, capture ability and efficiency than noninvasive species using two invasive aliens – Ageratina adenophora and Chromolaena odorata, and one noninvasive alien – Gynura sp. The three aliens were grown at 4.5%, 12.5%, 36%, 50% and 100% irradiances for 64 days before harvesting. The plastic response of specific leaf area (SLA) contributed to improved light interception at low irradiance, carbon gain and water balance at high irradiance. It was a good predictor for intraspecific irradiance responses of leaf area ratio (LAR), leaf area:root mass ratio, maximum photosynthetic rate (P_max) and net assimilation rate (NAR). Biomass allocation-related traits were species specific and their plasticity to irradiance was low. The high root mass fraction, leaf mass fraction and LAR distinguished the two invaders from Gynura. However, other resource capture-related traits, such as SLA, NAR and P_max, were not always higher for the invaders than for Gynura. Furthermore, plasticity to irradiance was not different between the invasive and noninvasive aliens. With increasing irradiance, Gynura decreased biomass investment to roots and leaves but increased the investment to support structures adversely affecting both low and high irradiance acclimation. Ageratina might invade new habitat successfully through tolerating shading at low irradiance and outshading competitors by forming dense stands when irradiance is increased. The results suggested that both resource capture-related traits and irradiance acclimation conferred competitive advantage to the two invaders and some traits were common for invasive and noninvasive aliens but others were specific for invaders.