The Politics and Ecology of Invasive Species: A Changing Climate for Pioneering Plants

Intervening in the entangled domains of politics, science, and ecology, artists have challenged the demonization of so-called invasive species, uncovered complex histories of their redistribution and engendered collaborative scenarios in which the agency of non-native pioneers is released to restore and revivify devastated post-industrial environments. As a result, scientific rhetoric about the threat posed by invasive species was effectively interlaced with visceral fears of the spread of communism to the workers of the capitalist world. The black locust, despite its negative reputation amongst conservationists who view the tree through the lens of Invasion Biology, actually shares many of the characteristics that have led supporters of the new wild to re-evaluate the role of so-called invasive species in restoring degraded ecosystems. Encroaching planetary crisis has focused minds on the ecological benefits brought by new arrivals in terms of reversing biodiversity loss and the pioneering work of so-called invasive species in restoring destroyed landscapes.