Solutions for ecological and economic problems posed by Hakea sericea invasions rely on
scientific knowledge. We conducted a systematic review to analyze and synthesize the past and
current scientific knowledge concerning H. sericea invasion processes and mechanisms, as well as
monitoring and control techniques. We used ISIWeb of Science, Scopus, and CAPES Periodicals to
look for publications on the ecological and environmental factors involved in H. sericea establishment
(question 1); responses of H. sericea to fire in native and invaded ecosystems (question 2); and H.
sericea monitoring and control methods (question 3). We identified 207 publications, 47.4% of which
related to question 1, mainly from Australia and South Africa, with an increasing trend in the number
of publications on monitoring and modeling. The traits identified in our systematic review, such as
adaptations to dystrophic environments, drought resistance, sclerophylly, low transpiration rates,
high nutrient use efficiency, stomatal conductance and photosynthetic rates, strong serotiny, proteoid
roots and high post-fire seed survival and seedling recruitment, highlighted that H. sericea is
a successful invader species due to its long adaptive history mediated by an arsenal of ecophysiological
mechanisms that place it at a superior competitive level, especially in fire-prone ecosystems.
Integrated cost-effective control methods in selected areas and the incorporation of information on
the temporal invasion dynamics can significantly improve invasion control and mitigate H. sericea
impacts while maintaining the supply of ecosystem services in invaded areas.
This research was funded by Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal)
through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020)
and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020) and through the Doctoral degree grant FCT: SFRH/BD/04517/2021,
and by “FAP-DF—Federal District Research Support Foundation—Grant DPG 008-2021”.
