title: Floristic characteristics of alien invasive seed plant species in China.
abstract: This study aims to determine the floristic characteristics of alien invasive seed plant species (AISPS) in China. There are a total of five hundred and thirteen AISPS, belonging to seventy families and two hundred and eighty-three genera. Seventy families were classified into nine areal types at the family level, and "Cosmopolitan" and "Pantropic" are the two main types. Two hundred and eighty-three genera were classified into twelve areal types at the genus level, and "Pantropic", "Trop. Asia & Amer. disjuncted", and "Cosmopolitan" are the three main types. These results reveal a certain degree of diversity among AISPS in China. The floristic characteristics at the family level exhibit strong pantropic characteristics. Two possible reasons for this are as follows. Firstly, southeastern China is heavily invaded by alien invasive plant species and this region has a mild climate. Secondly, southeastern China is more disturbed by human activities than other regions in China. The floristic characteristics at the genus level display strong pantropic but with abundant temperate characteristics. This may be due to that China across five climatic zones and the ecosystems in which the most alien invasive plant species occur have the same or similar climate with their natural habitat.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environment and Ecology, Academy of Environmental Health and Ecological Security & School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, 212013 Zhenjiang, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Congyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environment and Ecology, Academy of Environmental Health and Ecological Security & School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, 212013 Zhenjiang, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environment and Ecology, Academy of Environmental Health and Ecological Security & School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, 212013 Zhenjiang, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hongguang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environment and Ecology, Academy of Environmental Health and Ecological Security & School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, 212013 Zhenjiang, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jiawei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environment and Ecology, Academy of Environmental Health and Ecological Security & School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, 212013 Zhenjiang, P.R. China.|Key Laboratory of Modern Agricultural Equipment and Technology, Ministry of Education and Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu University, 212013 Zhenjiang, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Daolin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: DU
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D002681:China; D002980:Climate; D035264:Flowers / Q000145:classification*; D005843:Geography; D058865:Introduced Species / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010944:Plants / Q000145:classification*; D012639:Seeds