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Abstract
Whether the success of alien species can be explained by their functional or phylogenetic
characteristics remains unresolved because of data limitations, scale issues and weak
quantifications of success. Using permanent grasslands across France (50 000 vegetation
plots, 2000 species, 130 aliens) and building on the Rabinowitz's classification to
quantify spread, we showed that phylogenetic and functional similarities to natives
were the most important correlates of invasion success compared to intrinsic functional
characteristics and introduction history. Results contrasted between spatial scales
and components of invasion success. Widespread and common aliens were similar to co-occurring
natives at coarse scales (indicating environmental filtering), but dissimilar at finer
scales (indicating local competition). In contrast, regionally widespread but locally
rare aliens showed patterns of competitive exclusion already at coarse scale. Quantifying
trait differences between aliens and natives and distinguishing the components of
invasion success improved our ability to understand and potentially predict alien
spread at multiple scales.