Habitat Type and Disturbance Intensity Are Associated With Invasive Plant Community Structure Across an Urbanizing Subtropical Island
4 affiliations
- 1State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou Guangdong China
- 2Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Plant Conservation and Utilization in Southern China, South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou Guangdong China
- 3College of Life Sciences University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- 4Urban Planning and Construction Bureau of the Guangdong‐Macao In‐Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin Zhuhai Guangdong China
Abstract
Urbanization promotes biological invasions, yet the relative importance of spatial versus temporal dynamics in subtropical urban ecosystems remains unclear. We investigated invasive plant communities across six habitat types in Hengqin, South China, to evaluate factors influencing their distribution across habitats and seasons. Using nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and zero–one inflated Beta (ZOIB) models, we found that habitat type and disturbance intensity were strongly associated with invasive species distribution, explaining 58.9% of the community composition ( R ² = 0.589). Seasonal variation showed limited influence on community composition ( R ² = 0.012, p = 1.000), but the ZOIB model revealed a significant habitat × season interaction ( = 30.32, p = 0.011), indicating that seasonal effects were habitat‐dependent. Invasive species exhibited significantly broader occupancy breadth than native species (Shannon index: 3.00 vs. 2.45, p = 0.024), consistent with the generalist hypothesis. Greater spatial co‐occurrence among dominant invasive species (median = 0.203) compared to native species suggests that these plants share similar habitat preferences and disturbance tolerance, enabling co‐occurrence in high‐stress environments. The weak overall seasonal signal contrasts with phenology‐based models typical of temperate zones, although seasonal effects were evident in certain habitat types (e.g., forest edge, park, and wetland declined from spring to summer). This relative stability may reflect subtropical climate and the ability of dominant invasive species to maintain year‐round growth. These findings suggest that management should prioritize high‐risk habitats such as roadside and wasteland, while also considering seasonal timing in habitats with marked fluctuations.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026habitat,
title = {{Habitat Type and Disturbance Intensity Are Associated With Invasive Plant Community Structure Across an Urbanizing Subtropical Island}},
author = {Sha Wang and Ming Li and Yanan Guo and Jun Li and Ruijiang Wang},
journal = {Ecology and Evolution},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/ece3.74522},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74522},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Habitat Type and Disturbance Intensity Are Associated With Invasive Plant Community Structure Across an Urbanizing Subtropical Island
AU - Sha Wang
AU - Ming Li
AU - Yanan Guo
AU - Jun Li
AU - Ruijiang Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - Ecology and Evolution
DO - 10.1002/ece3.74522
UR - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74522
AB - Urbanization promotes biological invasions, yet the relative importance of spatial versus temporal dynamics in subtropical urban ecosystems remains unclear. We investigated invasive plant communities across six habitat types in Hengqin, South China, to evaluate factors influencing their distribution across habitats and seasons. Using nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and zero–one inflated Beta (ZOIB) models, we found that habitat type and disturbance intensity were strongly associated with invasive species distribution, explaining 58.9% of the community composition ( R ² = 0.589). Seasonal variation showed limited influence on community composition ( R ² = 0.012, p = 1.000), but the ZOIB model revealed a significant habitat × season interaction ( = 30.32, p = 0.011), indicating that seasonal effects were habitat‐dependent. Invasive species exhibited significantly broader occupancy breadth than native species (Shannon index: 3.00 vs. 2.45, p = 0.024), consistent with the generalist hypothesis. Greater spatial co‐occurrence among dominant invasive species (median = 0.203) compared to native species suggests that these plants share similar habitat preferences and disturbance tolerance, enabling co‐occurrence in high‐stress environments. The weak overall seasonal signal contrasts with phenology‐based models typical of temperate zones, although seasonal effects were evident in certain habitat types (e.g., forest edge, park, and wetland declined from spring to summer). This relative stability may reflect subtropical climate and the ability of dominant invasive species to maintain year‐round growth. These findings suggest that management should prioritize high‐risk habitats such as roadside and wasteland, while also considering seasonal timing in habitats with marked fluctuations.
SN - 2045-7758
SN - 2045-7758
ER -