Flooding effects on rapid responses of the invasive plant Alternanthera philoxeroides to defoliation

In experiments under controlled growth conditions it was examined how flooding affected the responses of the invasive plant Alternanthera philoxeroides to defoliation. In drained and flooded conditions, plants were subjected to five defoliation levels: 0, 10, 50, 90% removal of leaf tissue and apex removal (90% leaf tissue plus apical bud removal). Plants were harvested weekly for five weeks. In drained conditions, plant biomasses including total biomass, shoot biomass and root biomass after 50% defoliation rapidly recovered to the control plant level. They were significantly lower for the 90% defoliation and apex removal treatments compared to control plants throughout the experiment. In flooded conditions, total biomass and shoot biomass after 50% defoliation, 90% defoliation, and apex removal treatments could return to control plant levels before the end of the experiment. In 90% defoliation and apex removal treatments root to shoot biomass ratios of both drained and flooded plants were initially much higher than in control plants, but the difference disappeared rapidly. The final biomasses decreased with increased defoliation intensity in drained conditions, but no significant difference was generally found in any of the defoliation treatments in flooded conditions. The rapid re-growth of A. philoxeroides plants after defoliation may partly be responsible for its invasion success. However, defoliation capable of removing 90% of the leaf tissue may be desirable in restricting the growth of this invasive species in drained conditions.