Growing plant trade may spread invasive species – but help ecosystems adapt to climate change

By Judit Sonkoly, Research Fellow in Ecology, University of Debrecen
Bálint Bajomi, Research Associate in Conservation Biology, University of Debrecen
Péter Török, Professor of Plant Ecology and Restoration Ecology, University of Debrecen

Plant seeds must travel far to maintain healthy ecosystems. Carried on the wind or in the fur and dung of animals, travelling seeds help cleared forest patches regrow and infuse clutches of rare species with diverse genes, making them more resistant to extinction.

Understanding how plants disperse is increasingly important in the face of the steadily growing human influence on natural habitats. As commerce and tourism have become globe-spanning enterprises, humans are purposely…

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