Ecological explanations for successful invasion of exotic plants

The intentional introduction of exotic species can increase the level of local biodiversity,enrich people’s material lives,and bring significant social and economic benefits that are also the symbols of human progress.However,along with the frequent intercourse among countries and regions,the frequency of uncontrolled crossregional migration of species is increased and there is a lack of scientific management strategy for the intentional introduction of exotic species.Exotic species invasion,which is behind habitat fragmentation,has become the second largest threatening factor to the maintenance of the global-scale level of biological diversity.Exotic species invasion can destroy the structure of an ecosystem,disturb the economic life of a society,and do harm to human health.In this paper,the authors review some of the ecological explanations for issues such as“what causes or mechanisms have led to the successful invasion of exotic species”,including the“ideal weeds characteristics”,“biodiversity resistance hypothesis”,“enemies release hypothesis”,“evolution of increased competitive ability hypothesis”,“niche opportunity hypothesis”,and“novel weapon hypothesis”.The authors also analyze and evaluate the background and theoretical basis of the hypotheses,providing explanations for some phenomena,as well as the deficiencies of these explanations.

Effects of land-use types and the exotic species,Hypochaeris radicata,on plant diversity in human-transformed landscapes of the biosphere reserve,Jeju Island,Korea

Land-use and plant invasion influence biodiversity.Understanding the effects of land-use types and invasive plants on the ecosystem is crucial for better management and the development of strategic plans for increasing biodiversity in Jeju Island,Korea,a designated Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations Education,Scientific,and Cultural Organization.The effect of the most dominant invasive exotic species,Hypochaeris radicata,on the four land-use types of Jeju Island was investigated.Plant composition,soil characteristics,and plant diversity among four land-use types(cropland,green space,neglected land,and residential)were compared.Among the land-use types,croplands had the most diverse plant composition and the highest richness in exotic and native plant species.Croplands,such as tangerine orchards,which are widely distributed throughout Jeju Island,showed the highest plant diversity because of medium intensity disturbance caused by weed removal.The relative cover of H.radicata did not differ between land-use types.However,H.radicata invasion was negatively related with plant species richness,making this invasive species a threat to the biodiversity of native herbs present in land-use areas.H.radicata adapts to areas with a broad range of soil properties and a variety of land-use types.Therefore,it is crucial to monitor land-use types and patterns of plant invasion to guide the implementation of consistent management and conservation strategies for maintaining ecosystem integrity of the transformed habitat in Jeju Island.

Exotic and invasive species compromise the seed bank and seed rain dynamics in forests undergoing restoration at urban regions

The control of exotic and invasive species in areas undergoing recovery is a challenge for ecological restoration and this problem may be even greater in urbanized areas. This study evaluated the seed bank and seed rain of a 5-year-old riparian forest located at the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte in southeast Brazil, and verified changes over time in the abundance and species richness and whether planted species already were providing propagules to the site. At the forest, fifteen parcels of 100?m2 were distributed randomly and soil samples were collected thrice (October 2011, March 2012 and July 2012) to evaluate the seed bank. Seed traps were installed in nine parcels to collect propagules over 1?year. Propagules were segregated and germinate at greenhouse. Species richness and abundance were estimated, and variance and similarity were quantified. In total, 86 species were recorded in the seed banks, 41.9% natives and 33.7% exotics, with the predominance of herbs (87.2%) and only 7% of trees. Species classified as weeds amounted to 52.3%. In the seed rain 642 seedlings germinated but they belonged to only 10 species, half of them were exotics. Regarding life forms, half of the species were arboreal and dominated the samples, highlighting the exotic species Melia azedarach. The species richness of the seed bank did not differ by season, unlike the seed rain which varied significantly by month. Seed bank and seed rain species had a very low floristic similarity with the list of planted species, suggesting that few planted trees had dispersed or were stocking propagules. Many non-planted species were recorded, mostly exotics and/or invasive that were probably derived from the surrounding urban matrix. These might interrupt the successional dynamics of the restoration forest and compromise the restoration process in the medium and long-terms. Our results highlight: (1) the importance of monitoring areas undergoing restoration; (2) that restoration methods and management actions directed to control exotic and invasive species are particularly important for sites in urban regions; and (3) the relevance of conserving forest fragments as sources of propagules for nearby areas.

Invasive Spartina alterniflora-induced factors affecting epibenthos distribution in coastal salt marsh, China

Artificially introduced cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, rapidly colonized the intertidal flats of the Jiangsu coast, eastern China. The epibenthos on an intertidal flat invaded by S. alterniflorawere studied, to identify how local epibenthos species react to an altered environment. Epibenthic samples and surficial sediment samples were collected along a shore-normal profile in 50 quadrats at ten stations across the Spartina salt marsh; and five control quadrats for a station located on the barren sandy-mud flat. The grain size param- eters of the surficial sediments show that S. alterniflora altered the grain size gradient along the profile of the intertidal zone by trapping fine-grained sediments. Spartina alterniflora could inhabit lower elevation- s than indigenous salt marsh vegetation, thus creating larger areas of finer surficial sediments, which was suitable for not only native epibenthic species but also species which do not exist on the barren sandy-mud flat. Correlation analyses show that the epibenthos were sensitive to sediment grain size and type, on the invaded S. alterniflora salt marsh. Further, there was an interspecific relationship affecting the distribution of epibenthos. The results show that epibenthos preferred ecological niches, within the Spartina salt marsh, even in the same sampling station.

Biomass structure of exotic invasive plant Galinsona parviflora

Galinsona parviflora(Asteraceae)is a wide-spread annual weed that is invasive,colonizing new ground where it is able to persist.We studied the bio-mass structure of the G.parviflora population at the module level by using the methods of field plot invest-igation and weighing at 10 sample plots.Modular bio-mass was calculated and used for analysis of relation-ships between various modules.The results show that there was a positive correlation between plant height and modular biomass,between stem biomass and root biomass,stem biomass and capitulum biomass,above-ground biomass and underground biomass,and lastly,stem biomass and leaf biomass.The preferred model which measured all the relationships was a power function model with absolute coefficients(R2)ranging from 0.6303 to 0.9782.

No consistent legacy effects of invasion by giant goldenrod(Solidago gigantea)via soil biota on native plant growth

Aims Changes in soil microbial communities after occupation by invasive alien plants can represent legacy effects of invasion that may limit recolonization and establishment of native plant species in soils previously occupied by the invader.In this study,for three sites in southern Germany,we investigated whether invasion by giant goldenrod(Solidago gigantea)leads to changes in soil biota that result in reduced growth of native plants compared with neighbouring uninvaded soils.Methods We grew four native plant species as a community and treated those plants with soil solutions from invaded or uninvaded soils that were sterilized,or live,with live solutions containing different fractions of the soil biota using a decreasing sieve mesh-size approach.We measured aboveground biomass of the plants in the communities after a 10-week growth period.Main FindingsAcross all three sites and regardless of invasion,communities treated with<20μm soil biota or sterilized soil solutions had significantly greater biomass than communities treated with the complete soil biota solution.This indicates that soil biota>20μm are more pathogenic to the native plants than smaller organisms in these soils.Across all three sites,there was only a non-significant tendency for the native community biomass to differ among soil solution types,depending on whether or not the soil was invaded.Only one site showed significant differences in community biomass among soil solution types,depending on whether or not the soil was invaded;community biomass was significantly lower when treated with the complete soil biota solution than with soil biota<20μm or sterilized soil solutions,but only for the invaded soil.Our findings suggest that efforts to restore native communities on soils previously invaded by Solidago gigantea are unlikely to be hindered by changes in soil microbial community composition as a result of previous invasion.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community assembly in the Brazilian tropical seasonal dry forest

Introduction:Here,we compare the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal(AMF)community composition in soils from the root zone of the exotic invasive species Prosopis juliflora(EXO soils)and soils from the root zone of the native species Mimosa tenuiflora(NAT soils)from five locations in the Brazilian tropical seasonal dry forest,Paraíba,Brazil,using morphological analyses.Results:AMF community composition in EXO and NAT soils were dissimilar.Available phosphorus,diversity index,spore abundance,and species richness were the main factors differing between the EXO and NAT soils.In general,the most dominant order present in the soils were Glomerales(44.8%)and Gigasporales(41.4%).The most abundant AMF genus in all studied soils was Funneliformis.Conclusions:Differences in AMF community composition were associated with(1)differences in the dominant plant species(P.juliflora vs.M.tenuiflora)and(2)changes in soil chemical factors(soil,pH,total organic carbon,total nitrogen,and available P)in EXO soils.These results contribute to a deeper view of the AMF communities in exotic soils and open new perspectives for ecological processes involving AMF species and exotic plant species in the Brazilian tropical seasonal dry forest.

Reproductive biology in an invasive plant Solidago canadensis

Solidago canadensis,a perennial Compositae plant originating from North America,was introduced into China as a horticultural plant in 1935.Under natural condi-tions,S.canadensis allocates large amounts of energy to sexual reproduction and produces many seeds,which reflects an r-strategy with high seed number and small seed size.In addition,naturalized populations have a great capacity to grow clonally with underground stems.S.canadensis has become an invasive weed in eastern China,and has caused serious damages to agricultural production and ecosystems in several provinces in China.In order to understand the reproductive characteristics of S.canadensis and effectively control its spread,we examined soil conditions,seed charac-teristics,seed germination and the capacity for asexual reproduction in different plant parts.We investigated the population dispersion of S.canadensis in fixed sites for three years,and analyzed the seasonal dynamics of the morphological parameters of the underground parts and the caloric values of different organs of S.canadensis.We also compared differences in the root systems of S.canadensis and composite exotic weeds.The following results were obtained:1)Under natural conditions,the germination season of S.canadensis lasts from March to October,with a peak from April to May.Vegetative growth and asexual reproduction are especially vigorous during summer due to high temperatures and soil drought stress.On the other hand,the rainy season proves suitable for seed germination.Most S.canadensis flower between September and January,and fruit in late October.A mature plant can produce about 20000 seeds.The mean weight of 1000 seeds ranges from 0.045 g to 0.050 g,and the mean seed moisture content ranges from 60%to 80%.The light-winged seeds disperse readily by air,water,vehicles,human activity or through livestock.2)S.canadensis seeds have a wide tolerance for different values of pH,salinity and soil moisture.The mean percent germination of seeds is 30%under suitable conditions.The results of seed germination under various environmental stresses and investigation of soil conditions indicate that well-aerated,slightly acidic soils with low salinity are suitable for the growth of S.canadensis.Additionally,S.canadensis has a high tolerance for contamination by heavy metal elements including Zn,Cu and Pb,but has low accumulation coefficients for these elements.3)S.canadensis reproduces asexually via underground rhizomes and nodes on the stem base to recruit new individuals,and in plants that experience mechanical damage,this repro-ductive strategy is used to produce clonal shoots.The capacity for asexual reproduction among different plant parts rank as follows:underground parts>stem-base(20 cm)>stem-base(30 cm)>stem-base(45 cm)>stem.Further,with increasing mechanical damage,the quantity of shoots produced by the plant decreases.4)The morphological parameters of the root system of S.canadensis including length,surface area,volume,and average diameter are greater than for composite exotic weeds.These parameters indicate that S.canadensis has the physiological potential to widely invade China.5)The aboveground growth rate and most of the underground morphological parameters vary remarkably among the seasons,with a peak normally occurring in September.In August,a fraction of the energy in leaves and stems is allocated underground to increase fine root growth and water uptake during hot weather.Additionally,the seasonal dynamics of the underground morphological parameters and the caloric values of different organs of S.canadensis enhance its reproductive ability.Based on the results above,we conclude that S.canadensis has great invasive potential in China.We suggest that urgent measures should be taken to control its further spread,and to minimize its impact on local plant diversity.