Causes and Consequences of Invasive Plants in Wetlands: Opportunities, Opportunists, and Outcomes

Wetlands seem to be especially vulnerable to invasions. Even though ≤6% of the earth’s land mass is wetland, 24% (8 of 33) of the world’s most invasive plants are wetland species. Furthermore, many wetland invaders form monotypes, which alter habitat structure, lower biodiversity (both number and “quality” of species), change nutrient cycling and productivity (often increasing it), and modify food webs. Wetlands are landscape sinks, which accumulate debris, sediments, water, and nutrients, all of which facilitate invasions by creating canopy gaps or accelerating the growth of opportunistic plant species. These and other disturbances to wetlands, such as propagule influx, salt influx, and hydroperiod alteration, create opportunities that are well matched by wetland opportunists. No single hypothesis or plant attribute explains all wetland invasions, but the propensity for wetlands to become dominated by invasive monotypes is arguably an effect of the cumulative impacts associated with landscape sinks, including import of hydrophytes that exhibit efficient growth (high plant volume per unit biomass).