http://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/abstract/S0169-5347(12)00271-6

Bias and error in understanding plant invasion impacts

Quantitative assessments of alien plant impacts are essential to inform management to ensure that resources are prioritized against the most problematic species and that restoration targets the worst-affected ecosystem processes. Here, we present the first detailed critique of quantitative field studies of alien plant impacts and highlight biases in the biogeography and life form of the target species, the responses assessed, and the extent to which spatial variability is addressed. Observed impacts often fail to translate to ecosystem services or evidence of environmental degradation. The absence of overarching hypotheses regarding impacts has reduced the consistency of approaches worldwide and prevented the development of predictive tools. Future studies must ensure that the links between species traits, ecosystem stocks, and ecosystem flows, as well as ecosystem services, are explicitly defined.

定量评估外来植物的影响对于保证将资源优先用于防控问题最大的物种和恢复被影响最严重的生态系统过程必不可少。本文中我们介绍了第一个详细的评论定量分析外来植物影响的野外研究并且着重指出了这些研究针对的物种在生物地理和生活型、这些研究评估的影响和这些研究分析的空间尺度变化存在偏差。 观察到的外来物种的影响往往不能转化为对生态系统服务或环境恶化的证据。缺少一个关于外来物种影响的总体假说使得世界范围内没有一个一致的研究方法并阻碍了预测工具的发展。将来的研究一定要确保明确的定义物种性状、生态系统、生态系统流以及生态系统服务之间的关系。