Final answer:
The process in question is the intentional importation of new plant species or cultivars from their native region to a new one. This can be beneficial, but it also poses risks of those plants becoming invasive. The naturalization-invasion continuum illustrates the stages from introduction to spread, emphasizing the challenges posed by climate change.
Step-by-step explanation:
Introducing New Plant Species
The process described refers to the intentional importation and introduction of new plant cultivars or species from one region to another. This practice often aims to bring beneficial characteristics such as rapid growth and wide environmental tolerances into a new area. However, it's crucial to recognize that these biological traits can also confer a high invasive potential. For instance, certain species like Phragmites australis and Phalaris arundinacea have exhibited invasive behaviors after being introduced into new environments, drastically spreading beyond their original habitats.
The concept of the naturalization-invasion continuum delineates the stages and barriers an alien species encounters as it arrives, establishes, persists, and spreads within a new area. Climate change poses additional challenges and can influence each stage by altering barriers, sometimes promoting the likelihood of a species becoming invasive. Introductions can be for various purposes, from agriculture to horticulture, each carrying the risk of unintended consequences on local ecosystems.
Creating novel plants through breeding can involve crossing with relatives to introduce new traits into a crop. Such techniques can generate significant variation rapidly, highlighting the complex relationship between human activities, plant adaptation, and the risks associated with plant importation.