In botany, a neophyte (from Greek νέος (''néos'') "new" and φυτόν (''phutón'') "plant") is a plant species which is not

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to a geographical region and was introduced in recent history. Non-native plants that are long-established in an area are called archaeophytes. In Britain, neophytes are defined more specifically as plant species that were introduced after 1492, when

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

arrived in the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

and the

Columbian Exchange The Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the New World (the Americas) in the Western Hemisphere, and the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) in the Eastern Hemis ...

began.

Terminology

The terminology of the invasion biology is very uneven. In the English-speaking world, terms such as

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

or the like are mainly used, which is interpreted differently and do not differentiate between different groups of animals or characteristics of the species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) differentiates in its definitions between alien species and invasive alien species; Alien species are species that have been introduced into a foreign area through human influence. The invasive attribute (invasive) species are assigned that displace native species in their new habitat. In English, summarizing terms such as alien species (foreign species) or, in the case of suppressing potencies, invasive species (invasive species) are used without differentiating between plants, animals and

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

. However, the term "neonative" was proposed.

Definition

In addition to the inconsistency, the

xenophobic Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...

connotation of invasive and alien was criticized. The neutral designation Neobiota unites all species that have colonized new areas through human influence. However, the terms with neo are not used in a completely uniform way: * According to one opinion, the terms neobiota or neophytes or neozoa apply regardless of when a species was introduced. * According to another understanding, these names only apply to species introduced from 1492 onwards. The year of the discovery of America by Columbus was chosen as the border because it marks the beginning of the intensive exchange of living beings between Europe and America. Species that were previously displaced, such as useful plants introduced during the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

Revolution, are called archaeobiota or archaeophytes (plants) or archaeozoa (animals). These terms are mainly used in the German-speaking world. The term neophytes goes back to the recognized definition by Albert Thellung from 1918, which was later modified many times.

Biological invasion

One of the most important means of transport for neobiota today is global

freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...

traffic, which enables the unintentional displacement of neobiota. The process of immigration or introduction, establishment and expansion in the new area is called

hemerochory Hemerochory (Ancient Greek ἥμερος, hemeros: 'tame, ennobled, cultivated, cultivated' and Greek χωρίς choris: separate, isolated), or anthropochory, is the distribution of cultivated plants or their seeds and cuttings, consciously or u ...

or biological invasion. The most important vectors include

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

s, where neobiota can be hidden in containers or cargo, for example.

Aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

also continues to spread neobiota. Distribution via trade routes is mostly unintentional. There is a correlation between economic strength and the number of neobiota at the country level. Neobiota or neophytes are usually characterized by typical properties such as adaptability, high reproductive rate and often an association with humans. Together with the susceptibility of the new area to biological invaders and the number of displaced individuals, these properties determine the probability of success with which a stable population is established after a spreading event. When humans influence the environment, organisms can spread indirectly and migrate to a new area as neobiota. For example,

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

construction enables aquatic life to gain access to a new area. However, it is not always clear whether the species have spread due to anthropogenic environmental changes and are consequently classified as neobiota. While numerous neobiota do not cause any noticeable negative effects, some established neobiota have a strongly negative influence on the

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

of their new habitat. The composition of the biocenosis often changes considerably, for example as a result of

predation Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

or as a result of competitive pressure. Neobiota can cause economic damage, for example as forest, bank protection and agricultural pests. They can also appear as vectors of

pathogens In biology, a pathogen (, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of"), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ. The term ...

, some of which can also attack crops,

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

and humans. After alien organisms arrive in their new environment, they can become extinct or establish themselves (establish a reproductive population). The success of the establishment depends very much on the properties of the neobiont in question.

Examples

The neophytes include

ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...

plants and newly established species. Ephemeral plants are exotics that have not been established and cannot complete their full life cycle or persist in more than one place over a series of years without direct human assistance. Examples of ephemerophytes in Western and Central Europe are: Common sunflowers,

opium poppies ''Papaver somniferum'', commonly known as the opium poppy or breadseed poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae. It is the species of plant from which both opium and poppy seeds are derived and is also a valuable orname ...

, canary grass,

tomatoes The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originated from and was d ...

and adventives or potted main plants. Newly established plants are agriophytes with epecophytes. Examples of newly established species in western and Central Europe are:

Sweet flag ''Acorus calamus'' (also called sweet flag, sway or muskrat root, among many other common names) is a species of flowering plant with psychoactive chemicals. It is a tall wetland monocot of the family Acoraceae, in the genus ''Acorus.'' Alth ...

Jerusalem artichoke The Jerusalem artichoke (''Helianthus tuberosus''), also called sunroot, sunchoke, wild sunflower, topinambur, or earth apple, is a species of Helianthus, sunflower native to central North America. It is cultivated widely across the temperate z ...

, small balsam, cranberries, horseweed, quickweed, shaggy soldier, German chamomile, slender speedwell, and Persian speedwell.Barbara Tokarska-Guzik. The establishment and spread of alien plant species (kenophytes) in the flora of Poland. Publishing House of the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

, Katowice, 2005

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neophyte (Botany) Botany *

Terminology

Definition

Biological invasion

Examples

See also

References