Environmental Weeds and Loss of Native Plant Biodiversity: Some Australian Examples

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Abstract
At the species level, weeds have been primarily responsible for the presumed extinction of four Australian plant species and have the potential to force many more native plants to extinction. We discuss two known examples and describe research in progress on several endangered native plant species in relation to the threat posed by the non-native weed Bridal creeper (Asparagus asparagoides). At the ecosystem level, weeds may modify the functioning of natural ecosystems, usually negatively but sometimes positively, depending on the group of organisms being considered. Two Australian weed invasions that have positive, neutral and negative impacts on the invaded ecosystems are discussed. Of the various threats to native plant biodiversity, we conclude that increasing fragmentation of natural vegetation is a major factor that allows weeds to establish and dominate and thereby threaten still further the continued existence of native plant species and the Australian ecosystems in which they occur.