The dichotomous understanding of ’nativeness’ traditionally used to describe species (e.g. a species is either native or non-native to a place) becomes confusing and less useful as the climate and environment change and species move locations in response. A new, gradient-based conception of nativeness (where a species is more native or less native to a location based on the environmental conditions there) is compatible with the traditional understanding but also provides a clear, unifying re-framing of nativeness to help us understand where species belong in a rapidly changing world.
