MINI REVIEW article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Physiology
Unraveling the invasiveness of Prosopis juliflora (Neltuma juliflora): Seed traits and ecological implications
Provisionally accepted
- 1Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
- 2Sultan Qaboos University College of Science, Seeb, Oman
- 3University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom
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Prosopis juliflora (Neltuma juliflora) is a globally invasive tree species threatening arid ecosystems. Its invasion success is driven by specific seed traits that function as an adaptive bet-hedging strategy. The impermeable seed coat enforces physical dormancy and enables the formation of a persistent soil seed bank that buffers against environmental stochasticity (population insurance). Conversely, rapid germination allows the species to exploit short-lived moisture pulses and outcompete native vegetation. Livestock-mediated endozoochory further facilitates directed dispersal by depositing scarified seeds in favorable microsites. This mini-review synthesizes current knowledge on these anatomical and physiological mechanisms and examines how they interact with climate change variables, specifically rising temperatures and altered precipitation on intensifying invasion dynamics. Finally, we discuss integrated management strategies targeting seed bank depletion and dispersal pathways.
Keywords: Climate Change, dormancy, Germination, invasion, Neltuma, phenotypicplasticity, PODs, Prosopis
Received: 09 Oct 2025; Accepted: 12 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chibani, Fan, Ali and Al-Kharusi. 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: Kamel Chibani
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