Of the 120 most abundant plant species, at least 34% are non-native.
Although Chile is surrounded on all sides by geographical barriers, they have not been an impediment to the establishment of a series of foreign plants in our territory since the arrival of the Spanish, many of which have become weeds or have displaced native species.
At least 34% of the 120 most common plant species in the country are weeds, says Aníbal Pauchard, a biologist at the University of Concepción and researcher at the biological invasions laboratory at that institution. In Argentina, the same rate is 30%, in South Africa 22.5% and in Europe it is barely 1%. The scientist is one of the authors of the chapter on the effects of globalization on the most common plant species in the Encyclopedia of Biodiversity of the prestigious publisher Elsevier.