Unravelling the extent and impacts of plant invasion in the last pristine landscapes of Europe: the role of species interactions

人为来源的生物入侵对生物多样性构成重大威胁。在过去的30年里，对它们的驱动因素和影响的研究呈指数级增长，但其中大多数都倾向于关注一组单一的入侵者和有限数量的驱动因素。此外，尽管在不断上升的人为压力和气候变化下，在海拔越来越高的山区建立了多种入侵物种，但对山区的研究仍然不足。令人惊讶的是，我们仍然对气候变化、人类干扰和种间生物相互作用如何介导多次入侵及其对当地社区的影响知之甚少。特别是，同时发生的入侵者可能会促进传播，最终导致“入侵崩溃”。为了应对这一挑战，最近在乌克兰喀尔巴阡山脉建立了一个长期监测项目。这个高度生物多样性的地区拥有欧洲最重要的原始森林和原始森林。不幸的是，该地区也正在经历外来物种入侵的增加，气候变化导致洪水干扰增加，越来越多的人类活动正在改变栖息地。尽管存在这些多重压力，但多种物种持续向保护区扩散的时空驱动因素和生物多样性影响在很大程度上仍是未知的。目的回答两个主要的研究问题：本地生物因素如何决定多次入侵的成功及其对本地物种的影响？入侵物种和本地物种之间的生物相互作用如何阻碍或促进入侵动态？本博士将结合喀尔巴阡山脉的实地研究和尖端的人口建模技术来解决这些问题。学生将被嵌入到一个更大的监测项目中，随着他们兴趣的发展，他们有机会追求其他研究方向。

Biological invasions of anthropogenic origin pose significantthreats to biodiversity. Studies on their drivers and impactshave grown exponentially in the past 30 years, yet most ofthese tend to focus on a single set of invaders and a limitednumber of drivers. Moreover, mountain regions remainunderstudied despite the establishment of multiple invasivespecies at increasingly higher elevations under risinganthropogenic pressures and climate change. Surprisingly,we still know very little about how climate change, humandisturbance, and interspecific biotic interactions mediatemultiple invasions and their effects on native communities.In particular, co-occurring invaders may facilitate spread,eventually leading to "invasion meltdown".Novelty and timelinessA long-term monitoring project was recently established inthe Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains to meet this challenge.This highly biodiverse region is home to the mostsignificant remaining old-growth and virgin forest in Europe.Unfortunately, the region is also experiencing increasedlevels of invasion by alien species, flooding disturbance isincreasing under climate change, and growing humanactivity is altering habitats. Despite these multiplepressures, the spatiotemporal drivers and biodiversityimplications of the ongoing spread of multiple species intoprotected areas remain largely unknown.ObjectivesWe aim to answer two main research questions: How doabiotic factors locally determine the multiple-invasionsuccess and its effect on native species? How do bioticinteractions between invasive and native species impede orfacilitate invasion dynamics? This PhD will address thesequestions by combining field studies in the CarpathianMountains with cutting edge population modellingtechniques. The student will be embedded within a largermonitoring project, offering an opportunity to pursuealternative lines of research as their interests develop.