As climate change rapidly changes native habitats, many plants face threats to their survival and are unable to naturally migrate fast enough to more suitable environments without human help. One conservation strategy to address this challenge is called “managed relocation,” in which people actively help move plants to areas with more favorable conditions. There is uncertainty associated with this strategy, however, as there is no guarantee that relocated plants will thrive, or that they won't thrive too much and become invasive -- after all, moving species around created the epidemic of invasive species to begin with. 

Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with support from the Northeast CASC, published new research examining which plant traits could be prioritized to maximize the likelihood of successful native plant relocations while minimizing potential risks to ecosystems. The researchers sorted through scientific literature on plant restoration, invasions, and documented plant risk assessments to identify the plant traits that are linked to successful restoration efforts and invasions. Their findings suggest that current risk assessments may be overly cautious, often filtering out candidate species for relocation that have traits necessary for establishment. This approach could hinder relocation efforts by excluding species that may not cause harmful spread after establishment. Many traits do come with trade-offs. For example, high metabolic rates can support plant establishment, regardless of whether a species is native or invasive. Similarly, traits like rapid growth rates or wind-dispersal of seeds may help a species establish successfully but may also increase the risk of the species spreading more easily, which is a warning sign of invasiveness. Some traits, like toxicity, make a plant a bad candidate for relocation because of its likely harm to surrounding native plants. 

This evaluation of managed relocation strategies helps identify plant traits that support native species survival while minimizing risk to ecosystems.  

This research was supported by the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center Project titled: “Identifying Vulnerable Ecosystems and Supporting Climate-Smart Strategies to Address Invasive Species Under Climate Change.”