A recent study in the department of biological sciences has shed a startling new light on the ability of invasive plant species to thrive in foreign environments.

The study, which was published in the April 26 issue of “Nature,” showed that invasive plants are more capable of adapting to low-resource habitats than previously believed, heightening the already serious threat that invasive species pose to the planet’s ecosystems.

The lead author of the study, biological science postdoctoral scholar Jennifer Funk said she believes that her team’s findings may demonstrate that limiting access to resources such as water, nutrients and sunlight may not be enough to deter the spread of invasive plants. When these foreign species are left unchecked they often drive out native plants and come to dominate their adopted ecosystems.

“Invasive species can displace native species which can then lead to a cascading effect on other organisms, such as the insects, birds and mammals that depend on the native plants for food,” Funk said in an email to The Daily. “Invasive species can also alter ecosystem processes, such as nutrient and water cycling, fire regimes and forest productivity.”

Invasive plant species enter foreign habitats when their seeds are introduced into the area either by natural process — such as strong winds or accidental pollination — or human action. Once in the ecosystem, these species often flourish and wipe out the indigenous plants in the competition for resources.

Invasive species represent about 60 percent of the total plant species on the Hawaiian Islands — more than any other area on the planet.

“Invasive plants are really one of the biggest environmental threats of the 20th century,” said Biological Sciences Prof. Chris Field, director of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology.

The damage to the planet’s ecosystems caused by invasive plant species has been more costly than that caused by global climate change, according to Field. In the future, he warned, climate change and invasive species could combine to produce the ultimate homogenization of global plant species. Field stressed the importance of Funk’s study in illustrating the challenges presented by the threat of invasive plants.

“Before, people thought you would only get invasions when there were extra resources lying around,” Field said. “I think the main message from the study is that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all [solution for invasive species].”

As the threat of invasive plant species continues to pose a challenge for ecologists and researchers, finding new ways of containing the spread of these species will be central to deterring threats to ecological diversity and balance.

For her part, Funk offered a grim outlook on the future of controlling invasive species.

“I think that physical removal, cutting and spraying with herbicides, is the only viable method of containment,” she said. “Obviously, prevention, curtailing horticultural introduction and seed dispersal, is the most effective tool against invasives.”