Historical Reconstruction Of Invasion And Expansion And Potential Spread Of Some Threatening Invasive Alien Species In China

Biological invasions can alter both the structure and function of ecosystems and have linked to the reduced richness and diversity of native species around the world. Any biological invasion would be a "big bomb" for our agriculture and result in ecological and economic losses in specific ecosystem and specific geographic regions. The range expansion of alien species is the critial reason for them to cause ecological problems in the invade region. Therefore, understanding the patterns of invasive species over space and time and their potential for further spread will help to policy makers to determine appropriate management strategies and activities.The aim of this research was to first reconstruct the invasion and expansion processes of the fourteen alien invasive species in China, and then to identify and determine the invasion and expansion phases. Finally, based on ecological niche modelling combined with the geographical and ecological patterns revealed in the historical reconstruction of their invasions, we tried to predict the potential invasion areas in mainland of China. The fourteen invasive alien species are Ageratina adenophora, Chenopodium ambrosioides, Alternanthera philoxeroides, Amaranthus retroflexus, Amaranthus spinosus, Amaranthus viridis, Lepidium virginicum, Ageratum conyzoides, Aster subulatus, Conyza canadensis, Erigeron annuus, Galinsoga paviflora, Eupatorium odorata, and Phytolacca americana.A. adenophora is one of the worst invasive alien species in China. A. adenophora was first noticed in Yunnan province of China in the 1940s. After a lag phase of 20 years (1940-1960), A. adenophora spread rapidly throughout the south and middle subtropical zones in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Guangxi, China, with an average expansion...