The importance of weeds on a UK farm

A recent study in Science identified the most important plants within the networks of 1501 interactions between 560 taxa on a 125ha farm in Somerset, UK.  These plants have substantial and disproportionate cascading effects across the multiple networks and could provide benefits for biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Yet, some of these plants are typically regarded as farmland weeds, including thistles, cow parsley, clover and buttercups (Table S6).