Weeds: Against the Rules?

Abstract

Establishing laws of plant and ecosystems functioning has been an overarching objective of functional and evolutionary ecology. However, most theories neglect the role of human activities in creating novel ecosystems characterized by species assemblages and environmental factors that are not observed in natural systems. We argue that agricultural weeds, as an emblematic case of such an ‘ecological novelty’, constitute an original and underutilized model for challenging current concepts in ecology and evolution. We highlight key aspects of weed ecology and evolutionary biology that can help to test and recast ecological and evolutionary laws in a changing world. We invite ecologists to seize upon weeds as a model system to improve our understanding of the short-term and long-term dynamics of ecological systems in the Anthropocene.