system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5 how ivy, poison ivy, Virginia creeper, any other fast growing vine or plant, don't take over an entire area and destroy a forest?
gpt
Every living creature has a limit of size produced by the  physics of their biology. While the capillary effect can transfer water very long distances with minimal resistance,  the transfer of nutrients becomes a different story. 

If you wanted to transfer supplies a long distance,  it requires resources just to maintain the route,  so your need to carry resources for maintaining the route along the way and the evolutionary infrastructure isn't quite capable of that.  Especially since they're competing for resources to grow further in the process.