ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Functional Plant Ecology
Diversity patterns, abiotic and biotic drivers, and future dynamics of native invasive plants on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Provisionally accepted
Wanyin Xiong1,2Tao Cheng1,2Shijian Liu1,2Xin Liu2,3Hechun Ding2Mengdie Yin1,2
Wenguang Sun1*Yazhou Zhang2*- 1Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China
- 2Kunming Institute of Botany Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming, China
- 3Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, China
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Compared to alien invasive plants, native invasive plants have long been overlooked. As a result, many biodiversity hotspots are threatened by invasions of native species, yet lack sufficient policy attention and management interventions. This study focuses on native invasive plants on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) as a case study, aiming to provide guidance for regional management of native invasive plants and offer insights for related research in other areas. We compiled a comprehensive dataset of 83 native invasive plants and environmental drivers on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP), using spatial statistics and ensemble modeling to analyze invasion patterns and project future trends. A distinct northwest-to-southeast richness gradient was found, with the southeast as the primary invasion hotspot. This pattern aligned closely with allelochemical diversity, primarily benzenoids, terpenoids, and flavonoids. Invasion distribution was jointly influenced by allelochemicals, human activities, and climate. Models projected intensification and northwestward expansion of hotspots, increasing risks to protected areas, with invasive hotspot areas expanding by approximately 178.8×10⁴ km² across scenarios. Moreover, the MaxEnt model demonstrated extremely high predictive accuracy, with the average test AUC for all species reaching 0.9834. We propose targeted management focusing on the southeastern QTP, including allelochemical monitoring via metabolomics and biocontrol using allelopathy-resistant forage grasses and compound-degrading microbes to improve conservation efficiency and adaptability. Our findings unravel the large-scale mechanisms of alpine plant invasions while translating theoretical advances into practical management strategies for this ecologically critical landscape.
Keywords: Native invasive plants, Human Activities, Climate Change, Allelochemical diversity, Biological invasion
Received: 30 Sep 2025; Accepted: 27 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xiong, Cheng, Liu, Liu, Ding, Yin, Sun and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Wenguang Sun, sunwenguang@mail.kib.ac.cn
Yazhou Zhang, zhangyazhou@mail.kib.ac.cn
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