ABSTRACT
With increases in transport and commerce over the last thousand years, humans have been accidentally and deliberately dispersing and introducing plants to ecosystems beyond their native range (Mack et al. 2000). Plants making the transition to a new habitat must undergo a series of filters to become established: a historical filter, which asks whether or not the species arrives; a physiological filter, which asks whether or not the species can germinate, grow, survive, and reproduce; and lastly, a biotic filter, which addresses whether or not the species can compete and defend itself successfully (Lambers et al. 1998).
