Elton's biotic resistance hypothesis posits that species-rich communities are more resistant to invasion. However, it remains unknown how species, phylogenetic and functional richness, along with environmental and human-impact factors, collectively affect plant invasion as alien species progress along the introduction-naturalization-invasion continuum. Using data from 12,056 local plant communities of the Czech Republic, this study reveals varying effects of these factors on the presence and richness of alien species at different invasion stages, highlighting the complexity of the invasion process. Specifically, we demonstrate that although species richness and functional richness of resident communities had mostly negative effects on alien species presence and richness, the strength and sometimes also direction of these effects varied along the continuum. Our study not only underscores that evidence for or against Elton's biotic resistance hypothesis may be stage-dependent but also suggests that other invasion hypotheses should be carefully revisited given their potential stage-dependent nature.

Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences University of Milan Milan Italy

Department of Botany and Zoology Faculty of Science Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

Department of Ecology Faculty of Science Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Department of Geography Faculty of Science Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

Department of Invasion Ecology Institute of Botany Czech Academy of Sciences Průhonice Czech Republic

Ecology Department of Biology University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany

State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research East China Normal University Shanghai People's Republic of China

Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Taizhou University Taizhou People's Republic of China

Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco Restoration and Research Center for Global Change and Complex Ecosystems School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences East China Normal University Shanghai People's Republic of China

Zhejiang Zhoushan Island Ecosystem Observation and Research Station Zhoushan People's Republic of China

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