Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Abstract Tree invasions of Mediterranean‐climate ecosystems pose a significant threat to both biodiversity and functioning, by excluding native species, altering soil nutrient status and depleting water resources. In order to attain greater relative biomass associated with successful invasion in these characteristically resource‐poor environments, invasive species must have novel traits that enable better acquisition (e.g. deep roots) or exploitation of different resources (e.g. N 2 fixation) and/or more efficient use of available resources than native species. We compared the ecophysiological and morphological traits of three abundant native species to those of the invasive Australian tree species, Acacia cyclops . This species is widely invasive in the Mediterranean‐climate coastal vegetation of South Africa that includes the Strandveld vegetation type. A. cyclops had 30–50% greater foliar N concentrations ( P 0.05) compared to native species. Invasiveness of A. cyclops into this resource‐limited Mediterranean‐climate ecosystem appears to be supported by greater resource acquisition, possibly partially through N 2 fixation and greater rooting depth, rather than greater resource use efficiency or conservation.
Morris et al. (Thu,) studied this question.