RESEARCH ARTICLE Effects of land-use history and the contemporary landscape on non-native plant invasion at local and regional scales in the forest-dominated southern Appalachians Timothy R. Kuhman • Scott M. Pearson • Monica G. Turner Received: 12 January 2010 / Accepted: 11 June 2010 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010 Abstract Determining what factors explain the distribution of non-native invasive plants that can spread in forest-dominated landscapes could advance understanding of the invasion process and identify forest areas most susceptible to invasion. We con- ducted roadside surveys to determine the presence and abundance of 15 non-native plant species known to invade forests in western North Carolina, USA. Generalized linear models were used to examine how contemporary and historic land use, landscape context, and topography influenced presence and abundance of the species at local and regional scales. The most commonly encountered species were Micr- ostegium vimineum, Rosa multiflora, Lonicera japon- ica, Celastrus orbiculatus, Ligustrum sinense, and Dioscorea oppositifolia. At the regional scale, distance to city center was the most important explanatory variable, with species more likely present and more abundant in watersheds closer to Asheville, NC. Many focal species were also more common in watersheds at lower elevation and with less forest cover. At the local scale, elevation was important for explaining the species’ presence, but forest cover and land-use history were more important for explaining their abundance. In general, species were more common in plots with less forest cover and more area reforested since the 1940s. Our results underscore the importance of considering both the contemporary landscape and historic land use to understand plant invasion in forest-dominated landscapes. Keywords Exotic species Á Blue Ridge Á Roads Á City center Á Microstegium vimineum Á Rosa multiflora Á Lonicera japonica Á Celastrus orbiculatus Á Ligustrum sinense Á Dioscorea oppositifolia Introduction What factors determine the establishment and spread of non-native invasive plants? This question has long been at the forefront of invasion ecology (Elton 1958; Crawley 1987; Rejma ´nek 1989). Numerous factors have been implicated, but there is no simple or universal answer. Life history traits of non-native species can play a major role in determining their Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10980-010-9500-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. T. R. Kuhman (&) Department of Biological Sciences, Edgewood College, 1000 Edgewood College Dr., Madison, WI, USA e-mail: tkuhman@edgewood.edu S. M. Pearson Department of Natural Sciences, Mars Hill College, Mars Hill, NC 28754, USA M. G. Turner Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin- Madison, 430 Lincoln Dr., Madison, WI 53706, USA 123 Landscape Ecol DOI 10.1007/s10980-010-9500-3