Pilar Castro-Díez

• PhD in Biological Sciences
• Lecturer at University of Alcalá

Climate change is one of the main challenges that human societies are currently facing. Given that forests represent major natural carbon sinks in terrestrial ecosystems, administrations worldwide are launching broad‐scale programs to promote forests, including stands of non‐native trees. Yet, non‐native trees may have profound impacts on the funct...

The impacts of invasive species can vary widely across invaded sites and depend on the ecological variable of study. In this paper, we describe the first harmonised database that compiles scientific evidence of the ecological impacts of invasive plant species at continental scale. We summarise results from 266 publications reporting 4259 field stud...

Invasive plants affect the capacity of ecosystems to perform key functions, including primary production, nutrient and water cycling, decomposition, energy flow through food webs, or control of disturbance regimes, hydrology, and sedimentation. Invasive plants can also change the composition and structure of the resident community through different...

Promoting nature-based carbon sinks may contribute to minimise global warming. Different forest types may have different carbon sink capacity. Many areas of central Spain are covered by coexisting patches of monospecific plantations of Pinus halepensis, established since the 1960’s, and native Quercus forest coppiced up to the 1960´s. We aimed to c...

Invasive alien species have widespread impacts on native biodiversity and ecosystem services. Since the number of introductions worldwide is continuously rising, it is essential to prevent the entry, establishment and spread of new alien species through a systematic examination of future potential threats. Applying a three-step horizon scanning con...

Promoting nature-based carbon sinks is one of the effective ways to minimise global warming. Different types of forests, resulting from different land-use histories, may coexist under similar macro-environmental conditions, but their efficiency as carbon sinks may differ. In central Spain, many areas are covered by coexisting patches of monospecifi...

Non-native trees may have significant impacts on the carbon sink capacity of forested lands. However, large-scale patterns of the relative capacity of native and non-native forests to uptake and store carbon remain poorly described in the literature, and this information is urgently needed to support management decisions. In this study, we analyzed...

Humans have introduced non-native trees (NNT) all over the world to take advantage of the plethora of benefits they provide. However, depending on the context, NNT may present a diverse range of effects on ecosystem services (ES), from benefits to drawbacks, which may hinder the development of policies for these species. Unfortunately, the attempts...

Ecosystems provide benefits to humans, including provisioning, regulating, and cultural services. However, invasive species can threaten ecosystem well-functioning and services provided. One invasive species with such potential is the New Zealand mud snail (NZMS) Potamopyrgus antipodarum. The aims of this study are focused on the quantitative revie...

In the context of global change, the integration of non-native tree (NNT) species into European forestry is increasingly being discussed. The ecological consequences of increasing use or spread of NNTs in European forests are highly uncertain, as the scientific evidence is either constraint to results from case studies with limited spatial extent,...

One of the suggested mechanisms behind the success of non‐native plants in recipient ecosystems is competition avoidance with natives by means of different resource‐use strategies, such as deeper water uptake under dry conditions. We aimed at evaluating water source partitioning between native and non‐native tree species coexisting in central Spain...

Biological invasions are an important component of global change, which is threatening the planet's biodiversity and ecosystem services. To manage and mitigate the impacts of global change, it is important to have monitoring tools that allow assessing the impacts of exotic species at several scales in a systematic, periodic, rapid, and effective wa...

Non-native trees enhance services that are fundamental for human well-being. Yet, the extensive use of non-native trees has the potential of causing environmental and socio-economic harm. Eucalyptus and Pinus are the most widely distributed and extensively planted tree genera worldwide, because their rapid growth allows profitable production of tim...

Questions Non‐native tree species (NNT) may bring about economic benefits, but also threats to ecosystems, mostly if they show expansive trends. Location A set of 12,000 permanent plots of the second (1986–1996), third (1997–2007) and fourth (2008–2017) Spanish Forest Inventory. Methods We quantified changes over time (1986–2017) of the NNT prese...

Scientific and grey literature on invasive alien species (IAS) is conditioned by social, economic and political priorities, editorial preferences and species and ecosystem characteristics. This leads to knowledge gaps and mismatches between scientific research interests and management needs. We reviewed the literature on IAS management in Spain fou...

Questions It is well documented that invasive alien plants can reduce species richness and diversity and modify the composition of invaded communities. However, our knowledge on the impacts of invasive alien plants on the community functional structure and ecosystem properties and the mechanisms underlying these changes is more limited. We evaluate...

Tree taxa are often planted beyond their native range to increase the provision of some ecosystem services. Yet, they can disrupt ecosystem processes in their new ranges, causing changes in the provision of other services. Here we review the effects of five widespread tree taxa (Acacia, Ailanthus, Eucalyptus, Pinus and Robinia) on six regulating ec...

Upper reaches of temperate streams and oligotrophic lakes depend trophically on the organic matter coming from the surrounding watershed. These aquatic ecosystems accumulate particulate and dissolved organic matter, and chemical compounds liberated from decomposing leaves or from the leachates of leaf litter. These materials supply a wide range of...

Ligustrum lucidum is a highly invasive East Asian tree that successfully colonizes several subtropical and temperate areas around the world. Its invasion capacity results from a widespread human use mostly in urban and periurban settings, very abundant fruit and seed production, small bird-dispersed fruits, high germination rates, resprouting capac...

In the last century, eucalypts became one of the most popular fast-growing species in the world for production purposes. Eucalyptus globulus Labill. is currently one of the most extensively cultivated species. The Iberian Peninsula (Iberia) holds the largest concentration of E. globulus plantations, distributed mostly along the Western and Northern...

Leaf stomatal density is known to covary with leaf vein density. However, the functional underpinning of this relation, and how it scales to whole‐plant water transport anatomy, is still unresolved. We hypothesized that the balance of water exchange between the vapour phase (in stomata) and liquid phase (in vessels) depends on the consistent scalin...

Species distribution models are frequently used to anticipate the expansion of invasive species under the assumption that climate affects habitat conditions. Here, we investigated the influence of two additional factors that determine the spread, establishment, and impact of aquatic organisms: propagule pressure and water chemistry. Our case study...

Land-use intensification (LUI) and biological invasions are two of the most important global change pressures driving biodiversity loss. However, their combined impacts on biological communities have been seldom explored, which may result in misleading ecological assessments or mitigation actions. Based on an extensive field survey of 445 paired in...

Aims Plant invasions generally lead to mixtures between native and non-native litter. We assess the interactions between leaf litters from two invasive non-native trees (Robinia pseudoacia or Ailanthus altissima) and the native Populus alba on litter decomposition, nutrient release and soil properties along two gradients of invasion. Methods Micro...

Code and data used in Castro-Diez et al. (2019). Global effects of non-native tree species on multiple ecosystem services. Biological Reviews. https://doi.org/10.21950/EGM8SE

Non-native tree (NNT) species have been transported worldwide to create or enhance services that are fundamental for human well-being, such as timber provision, erosion control or ornamental value; yet NNTs can also produce undesired effects, such as fire proneness or pollen allergenicity. Despite the variety of effects that NNTs have on multiple e...

Question Do invasions by alien plant species with contrasting trait profiles (Arctotheca calendula, Carpobrotus spp., Conyza bonariensis and Opuntia dillenii) change the functional and phylogenetic structure of coastal plant communities?. Location Atlantic coastal habitats in Huelva (Spain). Methods We identified species diversity and composition...

Xylem conduit diameter (Dmax) of woody angiosperm adults scales with plant size and widens from the stem apex downwards. We hypothesized that, notwithstanding relative growth rate (RGR), growth form or leaf habit, woody seedling conduit Dmax scales linearly with plant size across species; this scaling should be applicable to all vegetative organs,...

Alien plant species have been essential for farming and agro-forestry systems and for their supply of food, fiber, tannins, resins or wood from antiquity to the present. They also contributed to supporting functions and regulating services (water, soil, biodiversity) and to the design of landscapes with high cultural and scenic value. Some of those...

ABSTRACT "(...) In this work, we applied species distribution models to project the current and future potential ranges of E. globulus plantations in Iberia. Future ranges were projected to the years 2050 and 2070 according to two contrasting representative concentration (of greenhouse gas) pathways: RCP8.5 (pessimistic scenario) and RCP2.6 (optimi...

Non-native tree species are widely used in forest plantations and agroforestry systems worldwide for their often-high productivity and performance compared to native trees. In addition, they have been and are introduced and used for multiple reasons, such as gardening, protective functions, arboreta, erosion control and for increasing the forest ar...

The Iberian Peninsula (Iberia) is a key region for preserving many endangered habitats and species. High biodiversity areas, such as Natura 2000 sites and High Nature Value farmlands, are widespread in Iberia. However, the massive, uncontrolled proliferation of exotic Eucalyptus globulus plantations in some regions may jeopardise conservation goals...

Limitations in the assessment of cultural ecosystem services through quantifiable approaches have constrained our knowledge of how these services can be altered by drivers of global change, such as non-native tree species. Here, we address this caveat by evaluating the effects of non-native tree species, in comparison to native ones, on several cat...

Riparian zones are among the natural habitats more prone to be invaded by exotic plants. In this study we review the causes and consequences of these invasions on fluvial and riparian ecosystems, as well as the effects described for the Iberian Peninsula so far. Riparian zones receive a high propagule pressure of exotic plants, their abiotic condit...

Plantations of Eucalyptus globulus are widespread in the Iberian Peninsula. It is unknown how climate change may affect its distribution and which spatial conflicts may arise from such dynamics. This work aimed to project current and future potential distributions of plantations applying different climate change scenarios and to predict possible fu...

The water demand for human activities is rapidly increasing in developing countries. Under these circumstances, preserving aquatic ecosystems should be a priority which requires the development of quality criteria. In this study we perform a preliminary prioritization of the risky substances based on reported ecotoxicological studies and guidelines...

Ailanthus altissima and Robinia pseudoacacia are two aggressive exotic tree species invading riparian ecosystems in Central Spain. We explored their allelopathic potentials as a possible mechanism explaining their success in these ecosystems. Specifically, we aimed (1) to compare the phytotoxic effects of the exotic and native (Fraxinus angustifoli...

The invasion of ecosystems by non-native species may alter the nitrogen (N) cycle through different nonexclusive mechanisms. Dramatic alterations occur in an ecosystem when the invasive species possesses a new strategy to acquire this nutrient, such as N2 fixation ability. Gradual alterations are caused by changes in the utilisation of N with respe...

A widely accepted hypothesis in invasion ecology is that invasive species have higher survival through the early stages of establishment than do non-invasive species. In this study we explore the hypothesis that the sexual reproductive success of the invasive trees Ailan-thus altissima (Mill.) Swingle and Robinia pseudoacacia L. is higher than that...

Diametric class distributions of A. altissima-, R. pseudoacacia- and F. angustifolia- dominated plots from the middle Henares River riparian forest. DBH- trunk diameter at breast height. Axis y represents the percentage of individuals of each species comprised in every DBH class. (TIF)

Annual seed rain (SSN) expressed as number of seeds per year, hectare and square meter of basal area of reproductive females for the species A. altissima (invasive), R. pseudoacacia (invasive) and F. angustifolia (native) from the middle Henares River riparian forest. (TIF)

Mean percentage of pre-dispersal removed seeds during autumn. (TIF)

Mean percentage of post-dispersal removed seeds during autumn. (TIF)

Questions Many studies report a decrease of native species richness in communities after plant invasion by exotic taxa, but the implications of species losses on community functional structure and ecosystem processes have been less explored. The questions addressed are: (1) what are the impacts of invasive plant taxa on the functional structure of...

We compared potential germination success (i.e., percentage of produced seeds that germinate under optimal conditions), the percentage of empty and insect-damaged seeds, germinability ( G m a x ), and time to germination ( T g e r m ) between the exotics Ailanthus altissima , Robinia pseudoacacia, and Ulmus pumila and two coexisting native tr...

Climate, land use and disturbances are well known drivers of invasion. However, their relative influence may change across spatial scales, where climate is expected to be the main filter at broad scales; land use is expected to have more influence at intermediate scales, and disturbance, at fine ones. Understanding the underlying processes that dri...

Invasive species are a threat to aquatic ecosystems worldwide. Aquatic snails have a limited ability for an active dispersal. Therefore, their ability to survive to transport in non-aquatic media may help explain their spread across unconnected habitats. We assessed the ability of New Zealand Mud Snail (NZMS) (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) to survive a...

Aims To assess the impacts of Ailanthus altissima and Robinia pseudoacacia on the whole litterfall process and on soil properties of riparian ecosystems of Central Spain by comparing invaded and non-invaded forests. Methods We selected 3–4 plots of four different types of forests: invaded by A. altissima or R. pseudoacacia, or dominated by the nati...

Biological invasions are one of the main causes of biodiversity lost and a relevant economic problem. Given the complexity of the invasion processes, some species have shown invasive behaviour in some ecosystems but not in others. A species with an ambiguous invasive behaviour is the New Zealand mudsnail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum). This snail has b...

Aim of study: The invasive trees Ailanthus altissima and Robinia pseudoacacia are widely spreading in inner Spain riparian forests, where they co-occur with the natives Fraxinus angustifolia and Ulmus minor. In a climate change context, we aimed to identify some of the species traits that are leading these species to success (Basal Area Increment (...

Aim of study: The invasive trees Ailanthus altissima and Robinia pseudoacacia are widely spreading in inner Spain riparian forests, where they co-occur with the natives Fraxinus angustifolia and Ulmus minor. In a climate change context, we aimed to identify some of the species traits that are leading these species to success (Basal Area Increment (...

Riparian invasion by exotic trees may lead to changes in the quality of leaf-litter inputs to freshwater ecosystems. Leaf-litter inputs are especially important in headwater streams, where aquatic food webs largely depend on the organic matter provided by the terrestrial vegetation. In a headwater stream of Central Spain, North of Guadalajara Provi...

Este estudio diagnostica y valora la invasión de las especies exóticas Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle, Robinia pseudoacacia L. y Ulmus pumila L. en hábitats ribereños españoles. Se recorrieron las riberas de los ríos Henares, Oria y el tramo medio del río Ebro en busca de rodales de estas tres especies, con la intención de determinar el grado...

Riparian zones are highly susceptible to invasion by alien plants. For both invasive and non-invasive plants, water has been proved to be an important vector for seed dispersal, connecting distant populations and, therefore, contributing to the downstream expansion of invaders. However, the effect of intrinsic factors of watercourses, such as habit...

Ailanthus altissima and Robina pseudoacacia are two successful invasive species of floodplains in central Spain. We aim to explain their success as invaders in this habitat by exploring their phenological pattern, vegetative and sexual reproductive growth, and allometric relations, comparing them with those of the dominant native tree Populus alba....

The climatic conditions predicted for the twenty-first century may aggravate the extent and impacts of plant invasions, by favouring those invaders more adapted to altered conditions or by hampering the native flora. We aim to predict the fate of native and invasive tree species in the oak forests of Northwest Spain, where the exotic invaders Acaci...

Las especies exóticas invasoras constituyen una de las principales causas de pérdida de biodiversidad. Debido a la complejidad del proceso de invasión, algunas especies muestran comportamiento invasor en unos ecosistemas pero no en otros. Una especie con un comportamiento ambiguo respecto a su carácter invasor es el caracol del cieno de Nueva Zelan...

The invasive tree species Acer negundo, Ailanthus altissima, Elaeagnus angustifolia and Robinia pseudoacacia are nowadays spreading in inner Spain riparian forests, where they co-occur with the natives Fraxinus angustifolia, Populus alba and Ulmus minor. In these forests, the natural light and soil moisture conditions are being altered by different...

Exotic plant invasions can notably alter the nitrogen (N) cycle of ecosystems. However, there is large variation in the magnitude and direction of their impact that remains unexplained. We present a structured meta-analysis of 100 papers, covering 113 invasive plant species with 345 cases of invasion across the globe and reporting impacts on N cycl...

Los bosques de ribera poseen un particular valor ecológico debido a su elevada productividad, diversidad y su papel como corredores ecológicos. Asimismo, estos bosques proporcionan importantes servicios a la sociedad, como el control de la erosión, la mitigación de la fuerza de las avenidas o la reducción de la carga de nutrientes de las aguas de l...

Background and aim: Exotic plant species can alter the nitrogen cycle in invaded ecosystems. We assess the differences in nitrogen use strategies and litter production and dynamics among three native riparian trees (Fraxinus angustifolia, Populus alba and Ulmus minor) and three co-occurring exotics (Ailanthus altissima, Robinia pseudoacacia and Ulm...

Spreading throughout a new ecosystem is the last step of an exotic species to become invasive. In the case of invasive aquatic molluscs, tolerance to air exposure is one of the main mechanisms allowing overland translocation and spreading. The mudsnail Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Hydrobiidae, Mollusca) is native to New Zealand but it has spread world...

Biological invasions represent a relevant ecological and economic problem of our globalized world. While a few species have been classified as invasive due to their ecological and economic impacts on the invaded ecosystems (e.g., zebra mussel), others show contrasting invasive potential, depending on the invaded ecosystem and/or the traits of the e...

Functional traits, their plasticity and their integration in a phenotype have profound impacts on plant performance. We developed structural equation models (SEMs) to evaluate their relative contribution to promote invasiveness in plants along resource gradients. We compared 20 invasive-native phylogenetically and ecologically related pairs. SEMs i...

Aims We assessed the effects of native and exotic tree leaf litter on soil properties in two contrasting scenarios. The native Quercus robur and Pinus pinaster tree species coexist with the aliens Eucalyptus globulus and Acacia dealbata in acid soils of NW Spain. The native trees Fraxinus angustifolia and Ulmus minor coexist with the aliens Ailanth...

1. Plastic responses to spatiotemporal environmental variation strongly influence species distribution, with widespread species expected to have high phenotypic plasticity. Theoretically, high phenotypic plasticity has been linked to plant invasiveness because it facilitates colonization and rapid spreading over large and environmentally heterogene...

Finite mesophyll diffusion conductance (g(m) ) significantly constrains net assimilation rate (A(n) ), but g(m) variations and variation sources in response to environmental stresses during leaf development are imperfectly known. The combined effects of light and water limitations on g(m) and diffusion limitations of photosynthesis were studied in...

Based on atlas data with a 10-km cell resolution for 1,406 exotic plant species inhabiting Great Britain, we investigate the extent to which arrival time (residence time) and biogeographical origin (climate suitability) are associated with range sizes of exotic plants and how exotic plant richness is related to current climate and the human footpri...

Specific leaf area (SLA), a key element of the 'worldwide leaf economics spectrum', is the preferred 'soft' plant trait for assessing soil fertility. SLA is a function of leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and leaf thickness (LT). The first, LDMC, defines leaf construction costs and can be used instead of SLA. However, LT identifies shade at its lowest...

Aim  Many Australian Acacia species have been widely planted around the world. Some taxa are among the most aggressive of invasive alien plants and cause severe ecosystem degradation. We aimed to predict invasiveness of taxa in a large set of Australian Acacia species on the basis of easy-to-assess predictors. Location  Global. Methods  We consid...

The exotic trees Ailanthus altissima, Robinia pseudoacacia, Acer negundo and Elaeagnus angustifolia coexist with the native trees Fraxinus angustifolia and Ulmus minor in river banks of central Spain. Similarly, the exotic trees Acacia dealbata and Eucalyptus globulus co-occur with the natives Quercus pyrenaica and Pinus pinaster in Northwest Spain...

Understanding the ecological determinants of biological invasions is a key issue for predicting the spread of exotic species over broad geographical extents. The goal of this study was to investigate independent and combined effects of climatic and human-related factors on native and exotic plant species richness in Great Britain. We used multiple...

Australian Acacia species have been widely planted worldwide for different purposes. Some of them have spread and altered the native ecosystem functions to the extent of being considered economic and ecologic threats. Understanding factors that allow these species to become invasive is an important step for mitigating or preventing the damaging eff...

La producción de sustancias alelopáticas por las especies vegetales contribuye a incrementar su éxito competitivo frente a otras especies coexistentes dentro de un mismo hábitat, pudiendo llegar incluso a eliminarlas. Las sustancias alelopáticas pueden inhibir la germinación y el crecimiento de otras especies de la comunidad. En los bosques de ribe...

Plant phenological studies in the Mediterranean have traditionally focused on the limits that summer drought exerts over plant seasonal behaviour. However, Mediterranean areas also occur across extensive regions under cooler climates. Here, we analyse phenological data of Mediterranean woody species from winter-cold sites to address the following q...

One of the most important sources of energy in aquatic ecosystems is the allochthonous input of detritus. Replacement of native tree species by exotic ones affects the quality of detritus entering freshwater ecosystems. This replacement can alter nutrient cycles and community structure in aquatic ecosystems. The aims of our study were (1) to compar...

Genome size is a function, and the product, of cell volume. As such it is contingent on ecological circumstance. The nature of 'this ecological circumstance' is, however, hotly debated. Here, we investigate for angiosperms whether stomatal size may be this 'missing link': the primary determinant of genome size. Stomata are crucial for photosynthesi...

Leaf traits related to the performance of invasive alien species can influence nutrient cycling through litter decomposition. However, there is no consensus yet about whether there are consistent differences in functional leaf traits between invasive and native species that also manifest themselves through their "after life" effects on litter decom...

Current environmental conditions are known to affect plant growth, morphology, phenology, and therefore, plant performance. However, effects of the previous-year environmental conditions can also affect plant structure by altering bud growth, and proportion and date of budburst. Here, we analysed the effects of previous-year water stress and shade...

Flowering phenology is an important and poorly understood plant trait that may possibly be related to the invasiveness potential of alien species. The present work evaluates whether flowering time of invasive alien species is a key trait to overcome the climatic filters operating in continental Mediterranean ecosystems of Spain (characterised by su...

We assess the hypothesis that rates of nitrogen transformations in the soil are altered upon replacement of native by exotic trees, differing in litter properties. Ailanthus altissima and Robinia pseudoacacia, two common exotic trees naturalized in the Iberian Peninsula, were compared with the native trees Ulmus minor and Fraxinus angustifolia, res...

In all Mediterranean-type ecosystems, evergreen and deciduous trees differing in wood anatomy, growth pattern and leaf habit coexist, suggesting distinct adaptative responses to environmental constraints. This study examined the effects of summer water stress on carbon (C) storage and growth in seedlings of three coexisting Mediterranean trees that...