Abstract: Alien plants become invasive plants after the processes of introduction, colonization, naturalization, and invasion. They seriously threaten local ecosystems and cause significant economic losses. The seeds of alien plants are crucial to the invasion process. However, effects of seed characteristics on the invasion process and control have not been qualified. By summarizing seed characteristics of life history, dispersal, physiology and reproduction conducive to the processes of introduction, colonization, naturalization and invasion of alien plants, we found that: (1) the introduction process of alien plants depends on autochory, anemochory, hydrochory, zoochory, anthropochory, and polychory; (2) the colonization process depends on the physiological characteristics of seeds, such as multiple germination, dormancy and vitality maintenance strategies; (3) the naturalization process depends on soil seed bank density and persistence conducive to the gradual establishment of stable communities in new habitats; (4) the invasion process depends on the integrated seed characteristics of dispersal, physiology, and seed bank, which could improve probability of the process. Although seed characteristics are very important for quarantine, prediction, and control of invasive plants, but control technology based on seed characteristics is rare. Therefore, it is necessary to develop technology for preventing the introduction, colonization, naturalization and invasion of alien plants, which would provide a technical basis for the control of alien invasive plants.

Key words: invasive plant, dispersal characteristics, physiological characteristics, soil seed bank, control technology