I'm very well acquainted with native plant theory but the details remain undefined. If you take the idea and run with it, you encounter so many questions. Are humans part of nature? If a coconut floats across the ocean to a new shore without manipulation by humans, did it invade? If it reaches a new shore with the aid of humans, did it invade? Does it matter who the humans were? Why they moved the plant? The date on which this movement occurred? That date seems very important for native theory to stand up to scrutiny. What is that date?
How far a plant must move or increase before it is described as invasive? A foot? A mile? Over an imaginary county, state, or country boundary? Can a single plant be observed and designated as having invaded? How many individuals are required to be an invasion? Is it a combination of distance and number of individuals? If so, what is the mathematical formula to calculate?
If plants are moved by humans because they offer beauty, sustenance for themselves or animals, some type of raw material that is useful, why would it be a negative to have more of those plants in other places? If people are starving, would it not be beneficial to introduce any edible plants that could thrive on their land? Does the introduction of new species increase biodiversity? If so, is that positive or negative?
Evolution and native theory seem to have very little overlap if we think in terms of a Venn diagram. If things are evolving, why is it a problem if plants move to where they were not yesterday, or last year, or at some vague, undefined past date? Is the state of evolving superior, or the static environment of native theory where no new elements are introduced and everything should stay exactly as it was on that mysterious date in its "original" place? How can evolution occur if things are static and "should" remain so? If evolution is occurring, is there a static ecosystem anywhere? Is an invasive plant the fittest for that spot, manifesting the most successful survival? Won't the native entities just evolve to accommodate the introduced ones?
I'm not a supporter or detractor of either concept, but I do have questions.
