Seedling recruitment in flood‐meadow species: The effects of gaps,litter and vegetation matrix

Question: Is the failure of establishment of rare flood‐meadow species in habitat restoration primarily due to seed or microsite limitation? How do sown species respond to artificially created gaps and added litter at two neighbouring sites with similar physical conditions but contrasting vegetation matrix (young arable fallow field vs species‐poor meadow sward)? Location: Upper Rhine valley, southwestern Germany, 85 m a.s.l . Methods: Seeds of six typical flood‐meadow species were sown in four treatment combinations of the factors gap creation and litter addition. Seedling recruitment was monitored for three years. Results: Five of the six species established successfully at both sites largely irrespective of treatments, indicating seed limitation. Only in the small‐seeded Arabis nemorensis, which was revealed to be strictly gap‐dependent at the meadow site, could an obvious microsite limitation be shown. The non‐significance of gap treatments in all other species at the relatively high productive meadow site is probably due to biomass removal by mowing in early summer. Only at the extremes of the seed size spectrum did the results meet predictions of plant ecological theory, such as the strict gap dependence of small‐seeded species in closed swards or the positive to neutral response of large‐seeded species to litter layers. Conclusions: Species identity was revealed to be the major factor influencing differences in recruitment. Due to the lack of a general trend in the response towards treatments the results support conceptual models that describe the interplay of facilitation and interference as a highly dynamic equilibrium, driven by variable abiotic and biotic marginal conditions.     

Colonization and early succession on anthropogenic soils

Abstract. This paper reports on vegetation development on permanent experimental plots during five years of succession. Nine (1 m²) plots were filled with three typical substrates from man-made habitats of urban and industrial areas in the region of Berlin. The three substrates (a commercial ‘topsoil’, a ruderal ‘landfill’ soil and a sandy soil), differ in organic matter and nutrient contents. Relevés of species composition and percent cover of each species present were made monthly during the growing season from the start of vegetation development. This paper describes the different successional pathways on topsoil and ruderal soil and the colonization process on sandy soil. On topsoil, ruderal annuals are dominant in the first year and are replaced by short-lived perennials from the second year. Those species were replaced by long-lived perennial herbs (Ballota nigra or Urtica dioica) from the third year of succession onwards. On the ruderal land-fill soil the early successional stages are less sharp and the perennial Solidago canadensis is able to dominate within one year after the succession was initiated. On sandy soil there is still an ongoing colonization process, where pioneer tree species like Betula pendula and Populus nigra play a main role. The importance of ‘initial floristic composition’, the role of substrate for community structure and the peculiarities of successional sequences on anthropogenic soils in the context of primary and secondary successions are discussed.     

Dynamics of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae during old field succession

Summary The species composition of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungal communities changed during secondary succession of abandoned fields based on a field to forest chronosequence. Twenty-five VAM fungal species were identified. Seven species were clearly early successional and five species were clearly late successional. The total number of VAM fungal species did not increase with successional time, but diversity as measured by the Shannon-Wiener index tended to increase, primarily because the community became more even as a single species, Glomus aggregatum, became less dominant in the older sites. Diversity of the VAM fungal community was positively correlated with soil C and N. The density of VAM fungi, as measured by infectivity and total spore count, first increased with time since abandonment and then decreased in the late successional forest sites. Within 12 abandoned fields, VAM fungal density increased with increasing soil pH, H₂O soluble soil C, and root biomass, but was inversely related to extractable soil P and percent cover of non-host plant species. The lower abundance of VAM fungi in the forest sites compared with the field sites agrees with the findings of other workers and corresponds with a shift in the dominant vegetation from herbaceous VAM hosts to woody ectomycorrhizal hosts.     

加拿大一枝黄花和一枝黄花化感作用比较研究

比较研究了入侵物种加拿大一枝黄花（Solidago canadensisL.）与本地物种一枝黄花（S.decurrens Lour.）开花期水浸提溶液对6种受试植物的种子萌发和幼苗生长的影响。结果表明：两种一枝黄花的水浸提溶液对受试植物均有化感作用,但是加拿大一枝黄花地下部分的化感作用比其地上部分强,而本地一枝黄花则相反。两种植物相比较,加拿大一枝黄花地下部分的化感作用比一枝黄花强,而地上部分则相反。本研究表明,加拿大一枝黄花地下部分具有较强的化感作用,通过化感作用对本地植物产生较强的抑制作用,从而形成单一优势群落。化感作用是其成功入侵的重要机制之一。豆科植物对加拿大一枝黄花的化感作用不敏感,因此它们可以作为生物替代控制中优先选择的物种。     

A conceptual model of plant community changes following cessation of cultivation in semi‐arid grassland

Question: Can vegetation changes that occur following cessation of cultivation for cereal crop production in semi‐arid native grasslands be described using a conceptual model that explains plant community dynamics following disturbance? Location: Eighteen native grasslands with varying time‐since‐last cultivation across northern Victoria, Australia. Methods: We examined recovery of native grasslands after cessation of cultivation along a space for‐ time chronosequence. By documenting floristic composition and soil properties of grasslands with known cultivation histories, we established a conceptual model of the vegetation states that occur following cessation of cultivation and inferred transition pathways for community recovery. Results: Succession from an exotic‐dominated grassland to native grassland followed a linear trajectory. These changes represent an increase in richness and cover of native forbs, a decrease in cover of exotic annual species and little change in native perennial graminoids and exotic perennial forbs. Using a state‐and‐transition model, two distinct vegetation states were evident: (1) an unstable, recently cultivated state, dominated by exotic annuals, and (2) a more diverse, stable state. The last‐mentioned state can be divided into two further states based on species composition: (1) a never‐cultivated state dominated by native perennial shrubs and grasses, and (2) a long‐uncultivated state dominated by a small number of native perennial and native and exotic annual species that is best described as a subset of the never‐cultivated state. Transitions between these states are hypothesized to be dependent upon landscape context, seed availability and soil recovery. Conclusions: Legacies of past land use on soils and vegetation of semi‐arid grasslands are not as persistent as in other Australian communities. Recovery appears to follow a linear, directional model of post‐disturbance regeneration which may be advanced by overcoming dispersal barriers hypothesised to restrict recovery.     

外来入侵植物加拿大一枝黄花繁殖生物学研究

加拿大一枝黄花(S olid ag o canad ensis)原产北美,自然条件下既能结实,同时又能以地下茎出芽的方式克隆繁殖,是目前我国东部地区危害严重的外来入侵杂草之一,对我国部分省市的农业生产和生态环境构成了严重威胁。连续3a定点观测其种群扩张规律,从生境因子、种子性状及萌发特性、残体无性克隆生长,地下部分形态特征和各器官热值能量的季节动态变化等方面对加拿大一枝黄花的繁殖生物学作了研究,同时比较了加拿大一枝黄花和其他4种菊科外来杂草的地下部分形态特征。研究结果表明:(1)自然条件下,加拿大一枝黄花种子在3~10月期间均可萌发,4~5月份气候适宜,雨水充沛,是种子萌发的高峰期。夏季的6~8月份是其营养生长和克隆增殖的旺盛期,9月份开始献蕾,花果期为10月至翌年1月份。加拿大一枝黄花的结实量高达20000粒/株,种子(瘦果)千粒重为0.045~0.050g,含水量在60%~80%之间;(2)加拿大一枝黄花自然条件下种子萌发率约为30%,在不同pH值、盐浓度和湿度环境条件下种子萌发的耐受性较强。不同环境胁迫下的种子萌发率和沪浙地区加拿大一枝黄花土壤生境因子的调查结果均表明,该种比较适应干燥、透气性良好的酸性低盐砂壤土,对Zn、Cu、Pb等重金属耐性较高;(3)加拿大一枝黄花地下茎和植株基部节处能萌生克隆分株。在机械除草等人为干扰条件下加拿大一枝黄花采用应激繁殖对策,容易产生更多的克隆分株。植株残体的无性繁殖能力为地下部分>基部茎>茎秆,20cm基部茎>30cm基部茎>45cm基部茎,从小到大的机械破坏程度使地下部分残体出芽数依次减少,但累计出芽数反而增加;(4)与其他菊科外来杂草相比,加拿大一枝黄花地下部分的长度、表面积、体积等指标最大,说明其在地下部分形态上具有广泛逸生的结构基础;(5)加拿大一枝黄花地上部分生长速率以及多数地下部分形态指标在9月份达到最大值。8月份过于高温干旱的气候使茎、叶中的部分能量转向地下部分,增加须根以吸收更多的水分。加拿大一枝黄花生长周期内地下部分形态指标和各器官热值能量的动态变化与其兼备有性繁殖和克隆生长的繁殖对策相适应。     

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 conditions, 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 characteristics, 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:

Long term dynamics of Rosa multiflora in a successional system

Long term studies of invasion dynamics are critical in developing a more complete understanding of the factors that influence species spread. To address this issue, the dynamics of the non-native invasive plant, Rosa multiflora, were examined using a 40-year record of successional change. The roles of biotic and abiotic factors in regulating R. multiflora invasion were also assessed. The invasion showed an initial 9-year time lag, followed by a 20-year period of population expansion and an ultimate decline as succession progressed. During all phases of R. multiflora’s invasion, there was continuous turnover within plots. Rainfall during the previous season was found to increase R. multiflora colonization during population expansion while tree species inhibited the invader’s growth. During expansion and decline of R. multiflora, common associated species were often positively or negatively correlated with changes in R. multiflora cover. Though early population dynamics were regulated by propagule pressure, the major influence on R. multiflora late in succession was canopy closure. Although the invasion of this species was largely self-limiting in this system, the species is likely to persist within late successional systems and may require management intervention.