BiolFlor — a new plant‐trait database as a tool for plant invasion ecology

Many studies focus on traits of invasive species as a step towards a better prediction of invasions (e.g. Noble, 1989; Mack, 1992; Py Í ek et al ., 1995; Tucker & Richardson, 1995; Crawley et al ., 1996; Rejmánek & Richardson, 1996; Williamson & Fitter, 1996; Reichard & Hamilton, 1997; Daehler, 1998; Py Í ek, 1998; Goodwin et al ., 1999; Grotkopp et al ., 2002; Prinzing et al ., 2002). Despite some progress, a predictive framework for predicting invasiveness remains illusive, except for the fact that being invasive elsewhere, having a broad native range, and exhibiting rapid dispersal suggest a high risk of invasiveness (e.g. Williamson, 1996; Alpert et al ., 2000; Heger & Trepl, 2003). Indeed, whether a robust predictive framework is possible for plant invasion ecology is controversial (Lodge, 1993; Smith et al ., 1999; Williamson, 1999; but see Rejmánek et al ., 2004). One promising approach is to compare successful and unsuccessful invaders from a source area from which species were introduced into a target region (Prinzing et al ., 2002; Py Í ek et al ., 2004b). This means that the source species pool from which invading species originate is the object of analysis rather than the flora of the target area. For all these kinds of analyses, the definition of the correct species pool is crucial (Cassey et al ., 2004; Py Í ek et al ., 2004b). The source pool of species may often be unknown. Even if the species pool is known, the traits of many species are often unknown. However, many invasive species across temperate regions of the world are of Central European origin (e.g. Crosby, 1986; di Castri, 1989; Roy et al ., 1998; Kalin Arroyo et al ., 2000; Richardson et al ., 2000a; Prinzing et al ., 2002; Pauchard & Alaback, 2004; Villasenor & Espinosa-Garcia, 2004). The flora of Central Europe is thus a very important source species pool for the analysis of traits of invasive species (Py Í ek et al ., 2004b). A new database that is available for such analyses was released recently as a book and CD-ROM: ‘BiolFlor’ — a database on biological and ecological traits of the vascular flora of Germany (Klotz et al ., 2002). A beta version of BiolFlor (in English and German) is now available on the Internet (see below). The flora of Germany covers the majority of Central European plant species, and BiolFlor is the most comprehensive database of Central European plant species traits. We therefore consider BiolFlor to be a valuable tool for identifying traits related to invasiveness by defining the appropriate species pool.