Importance of molehill disturbances for invasion by Bunias orientalis in meadows and pastures |
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| Institution: | 1. Faculty of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Wóycickiego 1/3, 01-938 Warszawa, Poland;2. Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lubicz 46, 31-512 Kraków, Poland;1. Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan;2. Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan;1. Department of Vascular Surgery, University of Athens, Attikon Hospital, Athens, Greece;2. Department of Vascular Surgery, Athens University Medical School, Attikon University Hospital, Athens, Greece;1. Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, 1144 Sowmeh Sara, Guilan, Iran;2. Department of Plant Production, Faculty of BioScience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure links, 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium;3. Department of Marine Science & Technology-Aquatic Ecology Department, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran;4. Ecology Department, National Inland Water Aquaculture Institute, Bandar Anzali, Iran;1. School of Mathematics Science, Liaocheng University, Shandong 252000, China;2. Department of Electrical Engineering, Yeungnam University, 214-1 Dae-Dong, Kyongsan 712-749, Republic of Korea;3. School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Hunan University of Technology, Zhuzhou 412007, China;1. AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Computer Science, Electronics and Telecommunications, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland;2. AGH University of Science and Technology, Academic Center for Materials and Nanotechnology, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland;3. AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland;4. Paul Scherrer Institute, Swiss Light Source, CH-5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland;5. Institute of Physics, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland;6. AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland |
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| Abstract: | Small-scale soil disturbances by fossorial animals can change physical and biotic conditions in disturbed patches and influence spatial and temporal dynamics, and the composition of plant communities. They create regeneration niches and colonization openings for native plants and, according to the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, they are expected to increase plant community diversity. However, it also has been reported that increased disturbance resource availability and decreased competition with native species may result in the invasion of communities by alien plant species, as predicted by the fluctuating resources theory of invasibility. In this study, we investigated the importance of European mole disturbances for the invasion of semi-natural fresh meadows and pastures by the alien plant, Bunias orientalis, which has mainly spread throughout Central Europe on anthropogenically disturbed sites. We hypothesized that the invader, being particularly well adapted to anthropogenic disturbances, enters into dense vegetation of meadows and pastures mainly on mole mounds. To assess the seedling recruitment of B. orientalis in relation to disturbance, we counted the number of seedlings that emerged on molehills and control plots in meadows and pastures. The establishment of juvenile (0–1 year) rosette plants on and off molehills was surveyed on 5 × 5 m plots. In accordance with our hypothesis, mole disturbances were found to serve as a gateway for B. orientalis by which the invader may colonize semi-natural grasslands. The seedlings of the species emerged almost solely on molehills and the young rosettes were established predominantly on mole mounds. Although the seedling density did not differ significantly between the meadows and pastures, the number of established plants in the pastures was considerably higher. We suggest that the invasion by B. orientalis in pastures may be facilitated by vegetative regeneration following root fragmentation by sheep pasturing. |
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| Keywords: | Invasive plant Poland Sub-Tatra region Small-scale disturbances Zoogenic soil perturbations |
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