Nie M.; Liu W.; Pennings S.C. and Li B. 2023. Ecology 104(1).

Coastal wetlands, which have the greatest ecosystem services per unit area of any ecosystem type (Costanza et al., 1997), are not immune to the challenge of invasive species (Gedan et al., 2009). Spartina alterniflora, native to the East and Gulf Coasts of North America, exemplifies these threats: it has spread to coastal and estuarine wetlands globally, causing considerable ecological and economic damage (Strong & Ayres, 2013). S. alterniflora was intentionally introduced to China in 1979 from three U.S. states (North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida) to promote sedimentation, control soil erosion, and protect embankments (Li et al., 2009). Over four decades, it spread to become the most dominant salt marsh plant along China's 18,000-km coastline (Figure 1), currently accounting for more than 60% of salt marsh area in China (Li et al., 2022). The widespread, well-documented and rapid invasion of S. alterniflora along the coast of China provides unique opportunities for studying the causes and consequences of plant invasions. This collection brings together 15 studies published in ESA journals that provide general insights into the ecology of S. alterniflora invasions in China and identifies avenues for future research on invasion biology. These studies consider the invasive effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, the pre-adaptation and phenotypic plasticity of plant traits in response to environmental changes, the effects of human and native biotic factors on invasiveness of S. alterniflora, and the invasibility of native communities.

Spartina alterniflora is already the most dominant plant in China's coastal wetlands. Here it is seen sweeping through the mudflats and salt marshes of the Yellow River Delta (credit: Qiang He).