Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42498982›Full record

SynthesisThe New phytologist2026

Neutral interactions among non-native plants are common.

Feng He, Zhiliang Yuan, Yumei Sun, Xincong Zhai, Xiangyu Tian, Yun Chen, Ragan M Callaway, Xiao Sun

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The New phytologist, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Feng He *State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8952-3024
Zhiliang Yuan *College of Life Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450046, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9649-947X
Yumei SunState Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2347-7912
Xincong ZhaiState Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4139-2935
Xiangyu TianCollege of Life Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450046, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3213-6313
Yun ChenCollege of Life Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450046, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8092-9981
Ragan M CallawayDivision of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, 59812, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7342-4312
Xiao SunState Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4855-1437

Funding

National Key Research and Development Program of China 2023YFE0122100National Natural Science Foundation of China 32371752Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province 232300421027
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Globalization has accelerated the establishment of non-native plant species, increasing the prevalence of multispecies co-invasions; yet interactions among co-invaders remain poorly understood. We combined extensive field surveys of 3039 plots with a global meta-analysis of 4415 observations from 122 experiments to quantify co-invasion prevalence, its effects on non-native plant performance, and the frequency of interaction types. Co-invasion was common in the surveys, occurring in 40% of the plots. Meta-analysis showed that co-invasion reduced non-native plant performance by 18% on average, indicating that invasional meltdown among plant species is not the norm. Most interactions were neutral (70%), whereas competition (18%) and facilitation (12%) were relatively uncommon. Thus, the widespread co-occurrence of non-native plants does not necessarily imply pervasive facilitation among co-invaders. Crucially, the mean competitive outcome was context-dependent. Interactions shifted from competition to facilitation with increasing non-native richness and intensified competition with natives. Furthermore, phylogenetic distance among co-invaders did not explain the interaction outcomes, whereas interactions among woody, nitrogen-fixing species, or invaders with greater SLA produced mean neutral effects. These findings expand our understanding of the invasional meltdown hypothesis by showing that co-invasion outcomes are context- and trait-dependent and offer a predictive framework for assessing and mitigating multispecies invasion risks.

Indexed as

Introduced SpeciesPlantsPhylogenyco‐invasionfunctional traitsinvasional meltdowninvasive plantsphylogenyplant–plant interactionsspecies richness

Identifiers

PMID42498982
PMCPMC13539978

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.