Do Plants Have a Choice of Traits to Be Modulated? Evidence from an Invasive Plant <i>Mikania micrantha</i> Kunth in Different Urban Environments

Abstract

The successful establishment of an invasive plant in a novel environment has been attributed to the phenotypic plasticity of plant traits, with most studies focussing on vegetative trait plasticity in either experimental and/or natural habitat conditions. This study explores the role of phenotypic plasticity, in both vegetative and reproductive traits, of an invasive plant Mikania micrantha growing as a ground cover in diverse urban areas in the city of Kolkata, India. Quadrat based plant and soil sampling was conducted in three habitat types, namely roadsides, natural areas and abandoned plots, from four regions within the city. The above ground biomass and fitness related vegetative and seed traits were estimated from the plant samples whereas soil macro-and micro-nutrients as well as soil health (in terms of organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon) were estimated from the soil samples. Habitat-specific selection of traits in M. micrantha was observed in this study. In roadside population which has more chances of long distance dispersal, the excessive production of reproductive biomass as a compensatory response to the low germination ability of the seeds was evident. In natural areas which are more prone to anthropogenic disturbance and where the plant has greater chances of local spread, modulation of both vegetative (higher SLA) and reproductive traits (lighter seeds with faster germination ability) helped the plant to maintain its population. In abandoned plots where there was more number of associated species, the longer span of germination and increased population height ensured the survivability of M. micrantha in the community. Thus, a continuous monitoring program to check for M. micrantha growth should be prioritized in urban areas due to its immense trait plasticity in different habitat conditions where uncontrolled growth can lead to its establishment and spread, thereby making its control more difficult.

Unveiling the resistance of native weed communities: insights for managing invasive weed species in disturbed environments

“…1; Franzetti et al ., 2020; Khanolkar et al ., 2020). Native weeds are integral to ecological succession, depending on the succession stage and the characteristics of the weed species involved (Banerjee et al ., 2017). For example, Epilobium angustifolium and Chamerion angustifolium rapidly colonise bare ground during ecological succession after wildfires, providing an important food source and habitat for pollinators; their rapid growth helps prevent soil erosion and facilitates woody plant regeneration (De Vitis et al ., 2022).…”

“…plant communities or ecosystems composed of weed species that are indigenous or native to a particular region or habitat (Wang et al ., 2022 c ), in disturbed environments may possess traits and adaptations that enable them to resist invasions by non‐native species (Divíšek et al ., 2018; Meyer et al ., 2021). These traits include rapid germination, high seed production, phenotypic plasticity, tolerance to pollutants, and efficient resource utilisation (Banerjee, Ghosh & Dewanji, 2017; Vilela et al ., 2018). While several studies (e.g.…”

Detection of phosphate solubilizing bacteria from rhizospheric soil of agricultural crops in Erode district

“…The micronutrients viz., iron, manganese, zinc and copper were estimated by using Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AEI -5310). 23…”

Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Climatic Niche Dynamics of an Invasive Plant Mikania micrantha Kunth and Its Potential Distribution Under Projected Climate Change

“…The shift of the realized climatic niche of M. micrantha toward cold and dry conditions in its invasive range is not surprising since the bioclimatic variables related to cold temperature (Bio6, Bio11) and temperature of the dry months (Bio9) made significant contributions in governing the distribution of this species. Previous studies have revealed that M. micrantha can establish across a range of environmental conditions due to phenotypic variation of physiological traits (Banerjee et al, 2017a). For example, experimental studies have found enhanced NAC gene expression in response to cold stress (Li et al, 2012) and phenotypic plasticity in traits in different altitudinal gradient (Prabu et al, 2014), to elevated CO 2 concentration (Song et al, 2009), and to contrasting light and soil water conditions (Zhang and Wen, 2009) in M. micrantha.…”

“…Previous ENM studies have predicted the potential distribution of M. micrantha at regional (Choudhury et al, 2016), national (Iyer et al, 2019), and global (Day et al, 2016) scales, however, with the assumption of climatic niche conservatism between its native and invasive ranges. M. micrantha can establish across different environmental conditions due to its ability to express phenotypic variation of traits [e.g., photosynthetic activity (Prabu et al, 2014), water and nitrogen use efficiency (Deng et al, 2004), leaf construction cost (Song et al, 2007), and vegetative and sexual reproduction Li et al, 2013;Banerjee et al, 2017a]. In this context, the modeled distribution based on the niche conservatism hypothesis may not reflect the true potential distribution of the species.…”