Weeds: Against the Rules?

Establishing laws of plant and ecosystems functioning has been an overarchingobjective of functional and evolutionary ecology. However, most theories neglectthe role of human activities in creating novel ecosystems characterized by speciesassemblages and environmental factors that are not observed in natural systems.We argue that agricultural weeds, as an emblematic case of such an‘ecologicalnovelty’, constitute an original and underutilized model for challenging currentconcepts in ecology and evolution. We highlight key aspects of weed ecologyand evolutionary biology that can help to test and recast ecological and evolu-tionary laws in a changing world. We invite ecologists to seize upon weeds as amodel system to improve our understanding of the short-term and long-termdynamics of ecological systems in the Anthropocene