Journal of Ecology 

About: Journal of Ecology is an academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Population & Species richness. It has an ISSN identifier of 0022-0477. Over the lifetime, 8354 publications have been published receiving 691653 citations.

Fluctuating resources in plant communities: a general theory of invasibility

Abstract: Summary 1 The invasion of habitats by non-native plant and animal species is a global phenomenon with potentially grave consequences for ecological, economic, and social systems. Unfortunately, to date, the study of invasions has been primarily anecdotal and resistant to generalization. 2 Here, we use insights from experiments and from long-term monitoring studies of vegetation to propose a new theory in which fluctuation in resource availability is identified as the key factor controlling invasibility, the susceptibility of an environment to invasion by non-resident species. The theory is mechanistic and quantitative in nature leading to a variety of testable predictions. 3 We conclude that the elusive nature of the invasion process arises from the fact that it depends upon conditions of resource enrichment or release that have a variety of causes but which occur only intermittently and, to result in invasion, must coincide with availability of invading propagules.