The invasive alien plant species Solidago gigantea alters ecosystem properties across habitats with differing fertility

Question: Invasive alien plants can affect biomass production and rates of biogeochemical cycling. Do the direction and intensity of such effects depend upon the functional traits of native and alien species and upon the properties of the invaded habitat, with the same alien species having differing impacts in different habitats? Location: Lowlands of Switzerland. Methods: Fourteen grassland and wetland sites invaded by Solidago gigantea and widely differing in biomass production and soil P availability were surveyed. To determine whether the impact of the species was related to site fertility, we compared the invaded and native vegetation in terms of biomass, species composition, plant traits and soil properties. Results: S. gigantea generally increased the above‐ground biomass production of the vegetation and soil C content, while reducing nutrient concentrations in biomass and N availability in the soil. However, it had no significant effect on plant species richness, soil respiration, soil pH and P availability. Leaves of S. gigantea had a greater C content than those of native species; other leaf traits and root phosphatase activity did not differ significantly. Conclusions: Our results suggest that a conservative nutrient‐use strategy allows S. gigantea to invade a broad range of habitats. The observed effects of invasion did not vary according to biomass production of the invaded sites, but some effects did depend on soil P availability, being more pronounced at more P‐rich sites. Thus, the full range of invaded habitats should be considered in studying the potential impact of plant invasions on ecosystem processes.     

Early response of herbaceous vegetation to Rhododendron ponticum subsp. baeticum invasion in European Atlantic forests

Questions

Rhododendron ponticum subsp. baeticum is an invasive shrub of growing concern in continental Europe, but little is known about its impact on native plant communities. Here we ask: do environmental conditions differ between forest stands invaded by it and uninvaded stands? Do these differences correlate with R. ponticum's cover? Are these differences associated with differences in taxonomic and functional diversity of vascular plant species of the herb layer? Can these vegetation changes be explained by the sorting of certain life-history traits by R. ponticum-induced environmental changes?

Location

Several forests invaded by R. ponticum in the French Atlantic domain.

Methods

We recorded vegetation composition and a number of environmental variables in 400-m² plots that were established in 64 paired forest stands (32 invaded vs 32 uninvaded). We compiled traits from existing databases. We computed several metrics of taxonomic and functional diversity. We compared environmental variables and diversity metrics between invaded and uninvaded stands. We used correlation and regression analyses to relate them with R. ponticum's cover. We ran RLQ and fourth-corner analyses to explore the relationships between R. ponticum invasion, environmental variables, species traits, and vegetation composition.

Results

Independent of its abundance, R. ponticum invasion was associated with lower light arrival at the forest floor and increased litter thickness. Concomitantly, species richness and diversity and trait diversity were reduced. The major driver of species assemblages was soil pH, which strongly interacted with the invasion gradient. R. ponticum did not sort species according to traits associated with shade tolerance and thick-litter tolerance. However, tree and shrub saplings were more abundant in invaded than uninvaded stands, at the expense of graminoid and fern species.

Conclusions

As R. ponticum becomes the dominant shrub, it exerts new selection forces on life-history traits of extant species, mostly via reduced light availability, increased litter thickness, and physical competition, thereby reducing taxonomic and functional diversity of the herb layer, without impeding tree and shrub self-regeneration, at least in the short term.     

Estimates of niche position and breadth vary across spatial scales for native and alien inland fishes

Aim

We estimate and compare niche position, marginality and breadth of Iberian inland fishes at three geographical extents (regional, restricted to the species’ range and global) to understand the effect of spatial scale on niche metrics. Furthermore, we investigate differences in niche metrics between native and alien fish, and test for associations with introduction date of alien species and niche characterization to better understand their invasion process.

Location

Iberian Peninsula and global.

Time period

2000–2020.

Major taxa studied

Fifty-one native and 17 alien inland fish species from the Iberian Peninsula.

Methods

Outlying mean index (OMI) analyses were used to estimate the niche position, marginality and breadth of Iberian inland fishes. Climatic OMI analyses were computed at three different scales (regional, restricted to the species’ range and global). Permutational analyses of variance (PERMANOVAs) were used to test for differences in niche position, marginality and breath among native and alien species.

Results

Niche metrics differed depending on the geographical extent of the investigation, as well as with respect to species origin (native versus alien). Differences in climatic niche position between native and alien species observed at the global scale were non-existent at the regional scale. The niche breadth of widely distributed alien species was highly underestimated when only considering the invaded region, and further influenced by the first date of of species introduction.

Main conclusions

Estimating niches of freshwater species, especially of alien invaders, should carefully consider the geographical extent of the investigation. We suggest that analyses that jointly consider regional and global scales will improve the estimation of niche metrics of widely distributed organisms, particularly regarding species climatic niche, and the assessment of the invasive potential of species.     

潮虫消耗木本植物凋落物的可选择性试验

近年来,越来越多的学者关注外来植物入侵对土壤生态功能的影响效应及其相应反馈机制的探索与研究,然而本地原生土壤生物群落对不同入侵程度下的外来植物种以及本地原生植物种之间是否存在消耗差异却尚不明了.通过等足目潮虫的选择性喂养试验来测试10个本地种、5个非入侵性外来种和5个强入侵性外来种之间的适口性差异,试图求证外来植物的入侵性是否与植物落叶被消耗率呈现必然联系.数据分析结果显示潮虫对本地种、非入侵性外来种和入侵性外来种的消耗并无显著差异;而潮虫对不同生活型下木本植物的取食却存在显著差异,即灌木消耗率显著高于乔木.其次,通过植物初始性状指标(包括木质素、纤维素、半纤维素、碳、氮含量)与相应消耗率的相关比较,消耗量总体上与植物凋落物的氮含量呈正相关关系(R2 =0.358).由此,研究结论强调植物落叶的降解速率并不一定与植物入侵性或入侵阶段呈绝对相互关连,但是氮含量,抑或各种形式的植物氮元素成分都可能在一定程度上参与并影响着外来植物的入侵进程.     

重要外来入侵植物随南水北调工程传入京津冀受水区的风险评估

【目的】外来物种在入侵地的扩张蔓延是其造成危害的关键。南水北调工程可为已入侵外来物种的进一步扩张蔓延提供通道和驱动力。风险评估可为预防入侵植物通过该途径的扩散蔓延提供依据。【方法】以国家重点管理外来入侵物种名录中的入侵植物为研究对象,根据生物入侵的发生过程(传入、定殖、扩散、危害)构建了包括4个层次29个指标的外来物种入侵综合风险评估的指标体系,规范了风险指数的计算方法,系统评估了24种入侵植物沿南水北调输水通道向北扩散而入侵京津冀受水区的风险。【结果】紫茎泽兰和互花米草的入侵风险值(R)相对较低(R0.6),其余22种入侵植物的风险值均较高(R0.6),其中,喜旱莲子草、凤眼莲和大薸3种外来水生植物的入侵风险等级最高(R0.8)。【结论】南水北调工程可能会促进入侵植物向北扩张蔓延并最终入侵京津冀受水区。建议尽早开展监测预警工作,以控制入侵物种随南水北调工程的扩张蔓延,进而阻止或降低其对京津冀尤其是华北最大水源地——白洋淀和雄安新区生态环境的威胁。     

Abiotic barriers limit tree invasion but do not hamper native shrub recruitment in invaded stands

The interplay between the invasion of alien plant species and re-colonization of native plant species is important for conservation. Sandy coastal plains (called restinga in Brazil) were used as a model system to explore the abiotic barriers that potentially limit the initial establishment of alien and native woody plants in invaded and non-invaded areas. The study tested the influence of light availability, soil type and litter layer on recruitment of a wind-dispersed alien tree (Casuarina equisetifolia) and two bird-dispersed native shrubs under a Casuarina stand and in the preserved restinga. The effect of soil type and the physical and allelopathic effects of Casuarina litter on seedling emergence of the three species were also evaluated under greenhouse conditions. Low dispersal associated with low seedling emergence and zero survival of young plants (mainly due to microhabitat conditions) apparently prevents the spread of Casuarina in the preserved restinga. The main cause of low recruitment of native species in the Casuarina stand was the physical barrier of the litter. However, if seeds overcome this physical barrier, the presence of litter improves seedling emergence and survival of young plants, mainly because the litter increases soil moisture. Sowing seeds below litter and planting young plants of native shrubs on litter can improve the re-colonization of native plants in invaded areas. In conclusion, Casuarina invasion on sandy coastal plains is strongly limited by abiotic barriers, but anthropogenic disturbances are altering the key processes that naturally make the restinga resistant to invasion.     

黄顶菊对入侵地群落动态及植物生长生理特征的影响

为明确黄顶菊对入侵地植物群落和土著植物生理生长的影响机制,采用同质园试验对入侵和非入侵土壤的植物群落开展了整个生育期动态监测,并分析了黄顶菊入侵对狗尾草、羽叶鬼针草、灰绿藜、地肤4种土著植物生长和生理特征的影响规律。结果表明:黄顶菊入侵土壤植物群落多样性指数低于非入侵地,且有季节性差异,随生育期的推进差异逐渐减小;黄顶菊对本地植物的生长指标有显著影响(P0.05),随时间变化显著,但存在物种差异;4种植物的净光合速率(Pn)、气孔导度(Cd)、蒸腾速率(Tr)在非入侵土壤生长显著高于入侵地土壤(P0.05);而4种植物在入侵土壤生长的比叶面积(SLA)、比根长(SRL)、比根面积(SRA)显著高于本地土壤(P0.05)。综上,黄顶菊入侵抑制了本地植物的光合效率,减少了生物量的积累,导致本地植物群落的生物多样性水平降低,但表现出季节差异;不同物种对黄顶菊入侵胁迫的响应表现种间特异性,为理解入侵种对群落结构影响和实现入侵生境恢复提供了理论依据。     

Release from belowground enemies and shifts in root traits as interrelated drivers of alien plant invasion success: a hypothesis

Our understanding of the interrelated mechanisms driving plant invasions, such as the interplay between enemy release and resource‐acquisition traits, is biased by an aboveground perspective. To address this bias, I hypothesize that plant release from belowground enemies (especially fungal pathogens) will give invasive plant species a fitness advantage in the alien range, via shifts in root traits (e.g., increased specific root length and branching intensity) that increase resource uptake and competitive ability compared to native species in the alien range, and compared to plants of the invader in its native range. Such root‐trait changes could be ecological or evolutionary in nature. I explain how shifts in root traits could occur as a consequence of enemy release and contribute to invasion success of alien plants, and how they could be interrelated with other potential belowground drivers of invasion success (allelopathy, mutualist enhancement). Finally, I outline the approaches that could be taken to test whether belowground enemy release results in increased competitive ability and nutrient uptake by invasive alien plants, via changes in root traits in the alien range.     

Seedling traits, plasticity and local differentiation as strategies of invasive species of Impatiens in central Europe

Background and Aims

Invasiveness of some alien plants is associated with their traits, plastic responses to environmental conditions and interpopulation differentiation. To obtain insights into the role of these processes in contributing to variation in performance, we compared congeneric species of Impatiens (Balsaminaceae) with different origin and invasion status that occur in central Europe.

Methods

Native I. noli-tangere and three alien species (highly invasive I. glandulifera, less invasive I. parviflora and potentially invasive I. capensis) were studied and their responses to simulated canopy shading and different nutrient and moisture levels were determined in terms of survival and seedling traits.

Key Results and Conclusions

Impatiens glandulifera produced high biomass in all the treatments and the control, exhibiting the ‘Jack-and-master’ strategy that makes it a strong competitor from germination onwards. The results suggest that plasticity and differentiation occurred in all the species tested and that along the continuum from plasticity to differentiation, the species at the plasticity end is the better invader. The most invasive species I. glandulifera appears to be highly plastic, whereas the other two less invasive species, I. parviflora and I. capensis, exhibited lower plasticity but rather strong population differentiation. The invasive Impatiens species were taller and exhibited higher plasticity and differentiation than native I. noli-tangere. This suggests that even within one genus, the relative importance of the phenomena contributing to invasiveness appears to be species''specific.     

Treatment by glyphosate-based herbicide allowed recovering native species after Oxalis pes-caprae L. invasion: indications from a Mediterranean island

Biological invasions represent a global threat to biodiversity. Particular attention should be devoted to the management of alien plants, focusing on the opportunity to obtain a rapid response to invasion and restoration of the invaded areas. In this study we aimed to evaluate five different methods for controlling Oxalis pes-caprae, a well-known invasive plant native to South Africa, also focusing on the restoration of the native flora. We set an experiment on the island of Montecristo (central Mediterranean). Treatment methods varied from chemical to low risk methods, including manual removal, covering with mulching sheets, and foliar spraying with acetic acid (30% solution) and two different concentrations of glyphosate (3 and 5% solutions, respectively). The total cover of O. pes-caprae and of other native plants was sampled before treatments, and then several times during the subsequent year; while the plant species composition was sampled in late winter (March 2015–2016) and late spring (May 2015–2016). The use of glyphosate was found to be the only efficient control method, leading to a significant decrease in O. pes-caprae cover as well as to a recovery in native species cover and richness. The effect of the other control methods was negligible.     

Comparison of defence and performance traits between one widespread clone and native populations in a major invasive plant species

Aim

The success of invasive species in their introduced range is often assumed to result from evolutionary changes in defence and growth traits, or as a response to more favourable conditions. The latter is assumed particularly for species exhibiting low, or even no, sexual reproduction in the introduced range.

Location and Methods

Here, we compared Japanese (native range) and French (introduced range) populations of Fallopia japonica under common growth conditions in a glasshouse. We measured height, aboveground and belowground mass, stem stiffness, leaf toughness and secondary metabolites found in hydroalcoholic extracts of rhizomes of F. japonica, as well as the competitive response of Rubus caesius (a co‐occurring native species in the invaded range) in the presence of F. japonica from both ranges.

Results

Aboveground biomass, height, stem stiffness and composition of secondary metabolites were not significantly different between the two ranges, showing that increased aboveground vigour observed in situ in France is probably the result of a plastic response following the release of abiotic or biotic constraints from the native range. On the other hand, belowground mass, effect on R. caesius, and leaf toughness were all higher in French populations, suggesting increases in competitive ability and defence mechanisms. These differences between France and Japan may be explained either by post‐introduction evolution or by the introduction in Europe, in nineteenth century, of an exceptionally vigorous clone (pre‐adaptation).

Main conclusions

Our results provide evidence that the high vigour of this major invasive species in its introduced range is probably due to both a response to more favourable conditions and rapid evolution.

     

丛枝菌根真菌在内的土壤真菌对入侵植物紫茎泽兰的正反馈：证据来自野外实验

包括紫茎泽兰在内的许多外来植物都能够与新入侵生境的丛枝菌根真菌（ AMF）形成互利共生,因此菌根真菌如何调节外来植物种的入侵是当前亟待研究的问题。测定了紫茎泽兰入侵不同阶段（紫茎泽兰呈零星丛状分布于本地植物群落中[部分入侵生境]及紫茎泽兰单优群落形成期[入侵生境]）的土壤化学性状,而后通过野外试验,采用杀真菌剂处理,研究了包括AMF在内的土壤真菌对紫茎泽兰入侵的反馈作用。紫茎泽兰入侵改变了土壤化学性状。施用杀真菌剂降低了紫茎泽兰叶面积、叶片碳、氮、磷、和δ13 C含量。综合分析发现,在紫茎泽兰与本地植物混生群落中,土壤真菌能够增加紫茎泽兰叶片碳和δ13 C含量,但是不能提高紫茎泽兰的光合作用,表明碳和δ13 C含量的提高,不是光合作用的结果,而是通过其他机制实现的。因此可以得出,在部分入侵生境中,碳从土壤或临近植物经由菌丝网向紫茎泽兰转移。紫茎泽兰入侵不同阶段土壤养分的变化利于紫茎泽兰种群建立,同时利于紫茎泽兰借助真菌（尤其是AMF）从土壤或临近植物转移碳,促进种群扩散,这可能是紫茎泽兰入侵的机制之一。     

Traits explain invasion of alien plants into tropical rainforests

• 1. The establishment of new botanic gardens in tropical regions highlights a need for weed risk assessment tools suitable for tropical ecosystems. The relevance of plant traits for invasion into tropical rainforests has not been well studied.
• 2. Working in and around four botanic gardens in Indonesia where 590 alien species have been planted, we estimated the effect of four plant traits, plus time since species introduction, on: (a) the naturalization probability and (b) abundance (density) of naturalized species in adjacent native tropical rainforests; and (c) the distance that naturalized alien plants have spread from the botanic gardens.
• 3. We found that specific leaf area (SLA) strongly differentiated 23 naturalized from 78 non‐naturalized alien species (randomly selected from 577 non‐naturalized species) in our study. These trends may indicate that aliens with high SLA, which had a higher probability of naturalization, benefit from at least two factors when establishing in tropical forests: high growth rates and occupation of forest gaps. Naturalized aliens had high SLA and tended to be short. However, plant height was not significantly related to species'' naturalization probability when considered alongside other traits.
• 4. Alien species that were present in the gardens for over 30 years and those with small seeds also had higher probabilities of becoming naturalized, indicating that garden plants can invade the understorey of closed canopy tropical rainforests, especially when invading species are shade tolerant and have sufficient time to establish.
• 5. On average, alien species that were not animal dispersed spread 78 m further into the forests and were more likely to naturalize than animal‐dispersed species. We did not detect relationships between the measured traits and estimated density of naturalized aliens in the adjacent forests.
• 6. Synthesis: Traits were able to differentiate alien species from botanic gardens that naturalized in native forest from those that did not; this is promising for developing trait‐based risk assessment in the tropics. To limit the risk of invasion and spread into adjacent native forests, we suggest tropical botanic gardens avoid planting alien species with fast carbon capture strategies and those that are shade tolerant.

     

Of Asian forests and European fields: Eastern U.S. plant invasions in a global floristic context

Background

Biogeographic patterns of species invasions hold important clues to solving the recalcitrant ‘who’, ‘where’, and ‘why’ questions of invasion biology, but the few existing studies make no attempt to distinguish alien floras (all non-native occurrences) from invasive floras (rapidly spreading species of significant management concern), nor have invasion biologists asked whether particular habitats are consistently invaded by species from particular regions.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Here I describe the native floristic provenances of the 2629 alien plant taxa of the Eastern Deciduous Forest of the Eastern U.S. (EUS), and contrast these to the subset of 449 taxa that EUS management agencies have labeled ‘invasive’. Although EUS alien plants come from all global floristic regions, nearly half (45%) have native ranges that include central and northern Europe or the Mediterranean (39%). In contrast, EUS invasive species are most likely to come from East Asia (29%), a pattern that is magnified when the invasive pool is restricted to species that are native to a single floristic region (25% from East Asia, compared to only 11% from northern/central Europe and 2% from the Mediterranean). Moreover, East Asian invaders are mostly woody (56%, compared to just 23% of the total alien flora) and are significantly more likely to invade intact forests and riparian areas than European species, which dominate managed or disturbed ecosystems.

Conclusions/Significance

These patterns suggest that the often-invoked ‘imperialist dogma’ view of global invasions equating invasion events with the spread of European colonialism is at best a restricted framework for invasion in disturbed ecosystems. This view must be superseded by a biogeographic invasion theory that is explicitly habitat-specific and can explain why particular world biotas tend to dominate particular environments.     

西双版纳外来入侵植物及其共存种叶片氮、磷化学计量特征

诊断外来植物和本地种的资源利用方式是入侵生态学研究的热点问题。叶片氮(N)、磷(P)含量和化学计量特征可以反映受侵地区植物的N、P吸收能力和限制状况, 为把握外来植物的入侵能力、为本地植物共存或消失的机制提供基础科学依据。该研究以我国西南地区典型外来入侵植物(飞机草(Chromolaena odorata)、紫茎泽兰(又叫破坏草, Ageratina adenophora))及其共存的本地植物为对象, 探讨不同入侵条件下入侵种及其共存的本地植物的N、P利用策略。在云南西双版纳孔明山研究区, 调查了无入侵条件下和飞机草与紫茎泽兰的不同入侵程度(按入侵种生物量比例划分)下的物种数量和生物量, 分析了主要植物的叶片N、P含量和N:P值。结果显示: 尽管群落地上生物量随飞机草和紫茎泽兰入侵程度增加而增加, 但本地植物种数随飞机草和紫茎泽兰入侵程度增加而显著减少。飞机草与紫茎泽兰的叶片N、P平均含量无显著差异, 但均显著高于无入侵条件下的本地植物以及与其共存的本地植物。两种入侵植物的N、P含量均随它们所占样方总生物量的比例增大而升高, 本地植物N含量也有相似的变化趋势。当对比入侵和无入侵两类样方的同种植物N、P和N:P变化时发现多数本地种叶片P含量呈降低趋势, N含量和N:P呈升高趋势。根据叶片N、P绝对含量和N:P值及其随入侵的变化规律, 推测入侵可能提高了植物的N可利用性, 但本地植物仍然受N限制; 入侵植物N:P值总体小于10与其具有相对于N吸收的较高的P吸收能力有关。该研究揭示了西南典型外来入侵植物具有较强的N、P吸收富集能力。     

High invasive pollen transfer, yet low deposition on native stigmas in a Carpobrotus-invaded community

Background and Aims

Invasive plants are potential agents of disruption in plant–pollinator interactions. They may affect pollinator visitation rates to native plants and modify the plant–pollinator interaction network. However, there is little information about the extent to which invasive pollen is incorporated into the pollination network and about the rates of invasive pollen deposition on the stigmas of native plants.

Methods

The degree of pollinator sharing between the invasive plant Carpobrotus affine acinaciformis and the main co-flowering native plants was tested in a Mediterranean coastal shrubland. Pollen loads were identified from the bodies of the ten most common pollinator species and stigmatic pollen deposition in the five most common native plant species.

Key Results

It was found that pollinators visited Carpobrotus extensively. Seventy-three per cent of pollinator specimens collected on native plants carried Carpobrotus pollen. On average 23 % of the pollen on the bodies of pollinators visiting native plants was Carpobrotus. However, most of the pollen found on the body of pollinators belonged to the species on which they were collected. Similarly, most pollen on native plant stigmas was conspecific. Invasive pollen was present on native plant stigmas, but in low quantity.

Conclusions

Carpobrotus is highly integrated in the pollen transport network. However, the plant-pollination network in the invaded community seems to be sufficiently robust to withstand the impacts of the presence of alien pollen on native plant pollination, as shown by the low levels of heterospecific pollen deposition on native stigmas. Several mechanisms are discussed for the low invasive pollen deposition on native stigmas.Key words: Alien plant, Carpobrotus aff. acinaciformis, competition for pollinators, invasion, Mediterranean shrubland, plant-pollinator network, pollen loads, pollinator visits, stigma     

An invasive aster (Ageratina adenophora) invades and dominates forest understories in China: altered soil microbial communities facilitate the invader and inhibit natives

Exotic plant invasion may alter underground microbial communities, and invasion-induced changes of soil biota may also affect the interaction between invasive plants and resident native species. Increasing evidence suggests that feedback of soil biota to invasive and native plants leads to successful exotic plant invasion. To examine this possible underlying invasion mechanism, soil microbial communities were studied where Ageratina adenophora was invading a native forest community. The plant–soil biota feedback experiments were designed to assess the effect of invasion-induced changes of soil biota on plant growth, and interactions between A. adenophora and three native plant species. Soil analysis showed that nitrate nitrogen (NO₃⁻-N), ammonium nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N), and available P and K content were significantly higher in a heavily invaded site than in a newly invaded site. The structure of the soil microbial community was clearly different in all four sites. Ageratina adenophora invasion strongly increased the abundance of soil VAM (vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) and the fungi/bacteria ratio. A greenhouse experiment indicated that the soil biota in the heavily invaded site had a greater inhibitory effect on native plant species than on A. adenophora and that soil biota in the native plant site inhibited the growth of native plant species, but not of A. adenophora. Soil biota in all four sites increased A. adenophora relative dominance compared with each of the three native plant species and soil biota in the heavily invaded site had greater beneficial effects on A. adenophora relative dominance index (20% higher on average) than soil biota in the non-invaded site. Our results suggest that A. adenophora is more positively affected by the soil community associated with native communities than are resident natives, and once the invader becomes established it further alters the soil community in a way that favors itself and inhibits natives, helping to promote the invasion. Soil biota alteration after A. adenophora establishment may be an important part of its invasion process to facilitate itself and inhibit native plants.     

Foliar nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry of alien invasive plants and co-occurring natives in Xishuangbanna

Aims How alien invasive plants and co-occurring native plants utilize nutrients is one of major issues in invasion ecology. Foliar nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents and stoichiometry can elucidate the uptake ability and limitation status of nutrients in plants, which provides basic knowledge for understanding the invading ability and co-occurrence or disappearance of plants.
Methods Based on typical alien invasive plants (Chromolaena odorata, Ageratina adenophora) and native plants in southwestern China, this study focused on strategies of N and P utilization among invasive plants and native plants under different invasion conditions. The species compositions, aboveground biomass, leaf N and P contents and leaf N:P were investigated for plants in plots with no invasion and with different invasion extents (estimated by the plot-based percentage of invaders’ biomass in total community) at Mt. Kongming in Xishuangbanna region, Yunnan Province, China.
Important findings The species number decreased significantly with the invasion extent of both C. odorata and A. adenophora, although the aboveground biomass was greatly enhanced. Leaf N and P contents did not differ between the two studied invaders, but they showed significantly higher N and P levels than both co-occurring and only native species (p < 0.05). Besides, leaf N and P contents of invaders increased with the invasion extent, and leaf N of native plants also showed an increasing trend with the invasion extent. When the influence of invasion was checked for the same species, leaf P contents decreased, whereas leaf N and N:P increased for most native plants under invasion. Based on the absolute foliar N and P contents, N:P values, we inferred that native plants were still limited by N, although N availability might be enhanced by invasion. Both invasive plants had leaf N:P values lower than 10, suggesting a higher P uptake relative to N uptake. All above results highlighted a higher N and P uptake of typical alien invasive plants in southwestern China.     

Invasiveness and impact of the non-native shrub Baccharis halimifolia in sea rush marshes: fine-scale stress heterogeneity matters

The invasion of the exotic dioecious shrub Baccharis halimifolia is transforming the estuarine communities of Southern Europe. Large scale gradients of salinity and flooding regime determine B. halimifolia zonations in salt marshes where the subhalophilous sea rush communities are the most affected by invasion. In this study we aim to (1) assess the invasion level and influence of B. halimifolia on native flora and to (2) quantify the performance of the exotic shrub in rush communities across fine-scale salinity and waterlogging gradients. Using floristic data collected in estuaries in Northern Spain we identified 3 sea rush community subtypes: low, medium and high salinity communities. B. halimifolia cover decreased from low to high salinity communities. Native species cover, richness and diversity and herbaceous-subshrub layer cover was significantly lower in invaded rush communities than in uninvaded ones. The reduction of the singular native estuarine species cover and richness was higher in the high and medium salinity community than in the low salinity community. Growth and reproductive traits measured on two consecutive years in invaded rush communities in Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve indicated that increased edaphic stress reduced B. halimifolia individual performance and enhanced attack by natural enemies. Moreover, leaf drop was more responsive to salinity in female than in male individuals. We conclude that fine-scale variations on edaphic stress played an important role in the invasibility of rush communities by affecting the individual performance of B. halimifolia, and might generate sex specific responses. The implications for rush marsh conservation are discussed.     

Plant invasion alters trait composition and diversity across habitats

Increased globalization has accelerated the movement of species around the world. Many of these nonnative species have the potential to profoundly alter ecosystems. The mechanisms underpinning this impact are often poorly understood, and traits are often overlooked when trying to understand and predict the impacts of species invasions on communities. We conducted an observational field experiment in Canada's first National Urban Park, where we collected trait data for seven different functional traits (height, stem width, specific leaf area, leaf percent nitrogen, and leaf percent carbon) across an abundance gradient of the invasive Vincetoxicum rossicum in open meadow and understory habitats. We assessed invasion impacts on communities, and associated mechanisms, by examining three complementary functional trait measures: community‐weighted mean, range of trait values, and species’ distances to the invader in trait space. We found that V. rossicum invasion significantly altered the functional structure of herbaceous plant communities. In both habitats V. rossicum changed the community‐weighted means, causing invaded communities to become increasingly similar in their functional structure. In addition, V. rossicum also reduced the trait ranges for a majority of traits indicating that species are being deterministically excluded in invaded communities. Further, we observed different trends in the meadow and understory habitats: In the understory, resident species that were more similar to V. rossicum in multivariate trait space were excluded more, however this was not the case in the meadow habitat. This suggests that V. rossicum alters communities uniquely in each habitat, in part by creating a filter in which only certain resident species are able to persist. This filtering process causes a nonrandom reduction in species' abundances, which in turn would be expected to alter how the invaded ecosystems function. Using trait‐based frameworks leads to better understanding and prediction of invasion impacts. This novel framework can also be used in restoration practices to understand how invasion impacts communities and to reassemble communities after invasive species management.