He, Y., Li, J., Siemann, E., Li, B., Xu, Y. and Wang, Y., 2025. Plant Invasion Increases Soil Microbial Biomass Carbon: Meta‐Analysis and Empirical Tests. Global Change Biology, 31(3), p.e70109.

Impact StudyBethany BradleyOctober 21, 2026Invasive plants, Meta-analyses, Carbon sequestration, Microbes, Soil

Invasive species give ecosystems the (carbon) flux

Thakur, M.P., Gu, Z., van Kleunen, M. and Zhou, X., 2025. Invasion impacts in terrestrial ecosystems: Global patterns and predictors. Science, 390(6771), pp.381-385.

Impact StudyBethany BradleyOctober 7, 2026Impact Studies, Terrestrial

More Grasses More Fires: Invasive grasses increase fire occurrence and frequency across US ecoregions

E.J. Fusco, J.T. Finn, J.K. Balch, R.C. Nagy, & B.A. Bradley, Invasive grasses increase fire occurrence and frequency across US ecoregions, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 116 (47) 23594-23599, (2019).

Impact StudyBethany BradleyAugust 19, 2026Plants, Invasive plants, Terrestrial Habitat, invasive species

Two trees diverged in a wood and that made all the difference (for insect impacts)

Mech, A. M., Thomas, K. A., Marsico, T. D., Herms, D. A., Allen, C. R., Ayres, M. P., ... & Tobin, P. C. (2019). Evolutionary history predicts high‐impact invasions by herbivorous insects. Ecology and evolution, 9(21), 12216-12230.

Native plants can take the heat

Summary of Tartaglia & Aronson ““Plant native: comparing biodiversity benefits, ecosystem services provisioning, and plant performance of native and non-native plants in urban horticulture”

Yep, more invasives is not good - relationships between invader abundance and impact

Summary of Bradley et al. (2019) “Disentangling the abundance-impact relationship for invasive species“

Impact StudyNortheast RISCCMay 29, 2025Climate change, Invasive plants, Hotspots, Range Shift

Disentangling a Knotty Problem

Jones, D., Bruce, G., Fowler, M.S. et al. Optimising physiochemical control of invasive Japanese knotweed. Biol Invasions 20, 2091–2105 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-018-1684-5

Climate change in western US deserts: potential for increased wildfire and invasive annual grasses

Abatzoglou, J. T., & Kolden, C. A. (2011). Climate change in western US deserts: potential for increased wildfire and invasive annual grasses. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 64(5), 471-478. PDF.

Methods to test the interactive effects of drought and plant invasion on ecosystem structure and function using complementary common garden and field experiments

Alba, C., NeSmith, J. E., Fahey, C., Angelini, C., & Flory, S. L. (2017). Methods to test the interactive effects of drought and plant invasion on ecosystem structure and function using complementary common garden and field experiments. Ecology and Evolution, 7(5), 1442-1452. PDF.

Framework and guidelines for implementing the proposed IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT)

Hawkins, C. L., Bacher, S., Essl, F., Hulme, P. E., Jeschke, J. M., Kühn, I., ... & Rabitsch, W. (2015). Framework and guidelines for implementing the proposed IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT). Diversity and Distributions, 21(11), 1360-1363. PDF.

Novel Pathways, Impact Study, Range ExpansionNortheast RISCCNovember 19, 2024

Framework and guidelines for implementing the proposed IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT)

Hawkins, C. L., Bacher, S., Essl, F., Hulme, P. E., Jeschke, J. M., Kühn, I., ... & Rabitsch, W. (2015). Framework and guidelines for implementing the proposed IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT). Diversity and Distributions, 21(11), 1360-1363. PDF.

Novel Pathways, Range Expansion, Impact StudyNortheast RISCCNovember 19, 2024

Climate-Driven Impacts of Exotic Species on Marine Ecosystems

Bennett, Scott, Julia Santana‐Garcon, Núria Marbà, Gabriel Jorda, Andrea Anton, Eugenia T. Apostolaki, Just Cebrian, et al. “Climate-Driven Impacts of Exotic Species on Marine Ecosystems.” Global Ecology and Biogeography 30, no. 5 (2021): 1043–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13283.

Worming their way into your forests?

Eisenhauer, N., Stefanski, A., Fisichelli, N. et al. (2014). Warming shifts ‘worming’: effects of experimental warming on invasive earthworms in northern North America. Sci Rep 4, 6890. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep06890. PDF.

Synergy of extreme drought and shrub invasion reduce ecosystem functioning and resilience in water-limited climates

Caldeira, M. C., Lecomte, X., David, T. S., Pinto, J. G., Bugalho, M. N., & Werner, C. (2015). Synergy of extreme drought and shrub invasion reduce ecosystem functioning and resilience in water-limited climates. Scientific reports, 5, 15110. PDF.

The frying pan and the fire: Megadisturbances are threatening the resilience of forest ecosystems to climate change

Millar, C.I., and Stephenson, N.L. Temperate forest health in an era of emerging megadisturbances. Science 349, 6250. 823 – 826. (2015). PDF

Observed and anticipated impacts of drought on forest insects and diseases in the United States

Kolb, T. E., Fettig, C. J., Ayres, M. P., Bentz, B. J., Hicke, J. A., Mathiasen, R., ... & Weed, A. S. (2016). Observed and anticipated impacts of drought on forest insects and diseases in the United States. Forest Ecology and Management, 380, 321-334. PDF.

Climate Extremes, Impact StudyNortheast RISCCNovember 19, 2024Review, Invasive Invertebrate, Terrestrial Habitat

Grass invasion and drought interact to alter the diversity and structure of native plant communities

Fahey, C., Angelini, C., & Flory, S. L. (2018). Grass invasion and drought interact to alter the diversity and structure of native plant communities. Ecology, 99(12), 2692-2702. PDF.

Experimental drought and plant invasion additively suppress primary pine species of southeastern US forests

NeSmith, J. E., Alba, C., & Flory, S. L. (2018). Experimental drought and plant invasion additively suppress primary pine species of southeastern US forests. Forest Ecology and Management, 411, 158-165. PDF.

Global change stressors alter resources and shift plant interactions from facilitation to competition over time

Alba, C., Fahey, C., & Flory, S. L. (2019). Global change stressors alter resources and shift plant interactions from facilitation to competition over time. Ecology, e02859. PDF.

Biocontrol in the Freezer: Extreme cold induces greater mortality in EAB biocontrol agents than in EAB larvae

Duan et al. 2020. Effects of Extreme Low Winter Temperatures on the Overwintering Survival of the Introduced Larval Parasitoids Spathius galinaeand Tetrastichus planipennisi: Implications for Biological Control of Emerald Ash Borer in North America. Journal of Economic Entomology 113, 1145 – 1151. (2020).

Research Summaries