The Impact of European Colonialism on Global Plant Redistribution

Explore the lasting impact of European colonialism on global plant distribution in this illuminating lecture. Delve into how European powers deliberately and accidentally transported, introduced, and established alien plant species throughout their occupied territories and metropolitan states. Discover recent findings showing higher compositional similarity in alien floras among regions occupied by the same European empire, with similarity increasing based on occupation duration. Learn how historically important economic or strategic regions exhibit more similar alien floras across empire-occupied areas. Examine the underlying reasons for the continued detectability of European colonial history in worldwide alien floras. Gain insights from Bernd Lenzner, a macroecologist and terrestrial ecologist specializing in invasion science, biodiversity change, and scenario research at the intersection of biodiversity, society, and policy.