As a consequence of rapid globalization, greatly increased emphasis is being placed on research into the ecology of invasive plants. Since Spartina alterniflora was introduced into Chongming Dongtan in 1995, it has gradually occupied a large area of the Phragmites australis zone, and has became a threat to the intertidal vegetation.. In this study, the photosynthetic characteristics of an invasive plant, Spartina alterniflora, and an indigenous plant, Phragmites australis, were measured during the growing s...