Are nurseries at fault for spreading invasive species?

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has published a pair of papers that, together, provide the most detailed maps to date of how 144 common invasive plants species react to climate change in the eastern U.S., as well as the role that garden centers currently play in seeding future invasions. Together, the papers, published in Diversity and Distributions and BioScience, and the publicly available maps, which track species at the county level, promise to give invasive species managers in the U.S. the tools they need to proactively coordinate their management efforts and adapt now for tomorrow’s warmer climate.