Patterns and drivers of alien plant invasion in Uruguayan grasslands.

Question: Understanding the patterns of alien plant invasions and their underlying drivers is a key step in conserving the remaining native grasslands of Uruguay. We addressed the level of invasion by considering the four invasive alien plants of these ecosystems, Cynodon dactylon, Eragrostis plana, Senecio madagascariensis and Ulex europaeus, throughout the country. Location: Remnant native grasslands of Uruguay, constituting part of the Río de la Plata grasslands. Methods: Extensive fieldwork was carried out over five years of data collection, including hierarchically randomized observations (around 2000) nested in 137 10 × 10‐km2 squares covering different geomorphological regions. For each invasive alien species, we constructed distribution maps to show their patterns; for the two most abundant, we fitted models to identify the main explanatory variables at different spatial scales. Results: We found that 77% of the squares were invaded by at least one target species. The level of invasion varied between regions and target plants. The most abundant invasive alien species were Cynodon dactylon and Senecio madagascariensis; while Eragrostis plana and Ulex europaeus were scarce. Cynodon dactylon cover was related to a set of variables at different spatial scales, including climate, topography and several local community descriptors. Senecio madagascariensis cover was positively associated with grassland fragmentation and anthropic disturbance at the landscape, and a few local descriptors. Conclusions: The large sampling effort at the country level, with a randomized design, allowed for a reliable assessment of the level of invasion of Uruguayan grasslands and its possible drivers. This is an important step in the design of policies to conserve Uruguay's remaining native grasslands. We suggest that the prevention should focus on the Basaltic Cuestas region, while control and containment should prioritize the eastern and south‐central parts of the country, focusing mainly on Cynodon dactylon management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]