Functional Divergence Drives Invasibility of Plant Communities at the Edges of a Resource Availability Gradient

Tordoni, Enrico; Petruzzellis, Francesco; Nardini, Andrea; Bacaro, Giovanni

doi:10.3390/d12040148

Cited by 14 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 90 publications

(118 reference statements)

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“…The differences we observed in IAS distribution across habitats might be indirectly inferred by considering both habitat features and IAS functional traits and referring to IAS autoecology described in other studies [13,19,41,89]. Analyzing one habitat at a time and both the IAS frequencies and abundances that were significantly higher (or lower) than expected by chance, starting from the aquatic vegetation, we observed that the only successful invader here was Elodea nuttallii, a perennial submerged rooted hydrophyte native to North America.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Do Habitats Show a Different Invasibility Pattern by Alien Plant Species? A Test on a Wetland Protected Area

et al. 2020

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Biological invasions are deemed to be the second most important global driver of biodiversity loss, right behind habitat destruction and fragmentation. In this study, we aimed at testing if community invasibility, defined as the vulnerability to invasion of a community, could be associated with the characteristics of a given habitat, as described by the composition and structure of its native species. Based on a probabilistic sampling of the alien flora occurring in the temperate wetland Lake Doberdò (Friuli Venezia Giulia region, NE Italy) and using a null-model-based approach, the observed occurrence of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) within sampling units was randomized within habitats. While testing the degree of invasibility for each habitat within the wetland, our null hypothesis postulated that habitats are equally invaded by IAS, as IAS can spread homogeneously in the environment thanks to their plasticity in functional traits that makes them able to cope with different ecological conditions. The obtained results comparing observed IAS frequencies, abundance and richness to those obtained by the null model randomizations show that, for all habitats, invasion was selective. Specifically, a marked preference for habitats with an intermediate disturbance level, a high nutrients level and a medium-high light availability was observed, while an avoidance was detected for habitats characterized by lower levels of nutrients and light availability or extreme conditions caused by prolonged submersion. This method allows us to provide useful information using a simple-to-run simulation for the management of the IAS threat within protected areas. Moreover, the method allows us to infer important ecological characteristics leading to habitat invasion without sampling the environmental characteristic of the habitats, which is an expensive operation in terms of time and money.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Do Habitats Show a Different Invasibility Pattern by Alien Plant Species? A Test on a Wetland Protected Area

et al. 2020

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“…The capacity of IAS to modulate functional traits in response to environmental changes is particularly useful in environments such as Mediterranean ones, characterized by seasonal resource fluctuations, as they allow IAS either to successfully exploit the resource surplus under high availability conditions or to use resources more efficiently in limiting conditions [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. At a physiological level, studies on IAS capacity for acquiring resources showed that their competitive advantage is usually associated with a higher CO 2 assimilation rate [ 31 , 32 , 33 ] and is supported by an increased photosynthetic pigment and carbohydrate content [ 34 , 35 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Water Stress on Physiological and Morphological Leaf Traits: A Comparison among the Three Widely-Spread Invasive Alien Species Ailanthus altissima, Phytolacca americana, and Robinia pseudoacacia

Pepe

Crescente

Varone

2022

Plants

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Invasive alien species (IAS) are a problem, especially in drought-prone environments such as the Mediterranean Basin where the exacerbation of the already severe conditions could constrain the native species acclimatation degree, creating new opportunities for IAS. Climate change may drive IAS expansions, even if different IAS can vary in their acclimatation response. Thus, it is important to obtain a broader insight of how the different IAS face abiotic stress. This research aimed to compare the effect of the imposed water stress on physiological and morphological leaf traits of Ailanthus altissima (AA), Robinia pseudoacacia (RP), and Phytolacca americana (PA), which are widely spread IAS in the Mediterranean Basin. Our results showed a species-dependent effect of the water stress at a physiological and morphological level, as well as an interaction between species and stress duration. Despite a common strategy characterized by low stomatal control of the photosynthesis, AA, PA, and RP differ in their sensitivity to water stress. In particular, even if AA was characterized by a more water-spending strategy, it was more resistant to water stress than PA and RP. In this view, the key factor was its plasticity to increase leaf mass per area (LMA) in response to water stress.

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“…Invasive alien species (IAS) are recognized as an important threat to biodiversity worldwide [22] and especially in rare and extreme environments (such as alpine zone or isolated islands, [23][24][25]). On dune ecosystems, in particular, IAS alter the structure of native communities in different ways: reducing functional, phylogenetic and taxonomic diversities and excluding closely related and ecologically similar taxa [26][27][28][29][30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Invasive Alien Species on the Co-Occurrence Patterns of Bryophytes and Vascular Plant Species—The Case of a Mediterranean Disturbed Sandy Coast

et al. 2020

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Cross-taxon analyses can explain patterns of interaction between taxa and their application in conservation studies can drive management actions. In a coastal sand dune system characterized by a high human pressure, we explored the co-occurrence patterns between vascular plants and bryophytes, with a focus on how the occurrence of invasive alien species (IAS) can affect those taxa and their relationships. Species congruences were evaluated at the community level considering taxonomic and functional diversities. Predictive co-correspondence analysis (Co-CA) was applied to quantify the strength of vascular plant communities in predicting bryophytes species composition. The relationship between the composition of vascular plants and bryophytes was significant, even if weak. Altitude and percentage of bare soil cover are the environmental variables exerting greater influence on the two taxa. The presence of IAS affects communities in an opposite way: for vascular plants, species richness increases with the presence of invasive alien species; for bryophytes, IAS’s presence has a low but significant negative influence, both on species richness and in terms of functional diversity. Results give elements for future studies on the effect of IAS on the bryophytes colonizing coastal sand dunes.

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Functional Divergence Drives Invasibility of Plant Communities at the Edges of a Resource Availability Gradient

Cited by 14 publications

References 90 publications

Do Habitats Show a Different Invasibility Pattern by Alien Plant Species? A Test on a Wetland Protected Area

Do Habitats Show a Different Invasibility Pattern by Alien Plant Species? A Test on a Wetland Protected Area

Effect of Water Stress on Physiological and Morphological Leaf Traits: A Comparison among the Three Widely-Spread Invasive Alien Species Ailanthus altissima, Phytolacca americana, and Robinia pseudoacacia

Effect of Invasive Alien Species on the Co-Occurrence Patterns of Bryophytes and Vascular Plant Species—The Case of a Mediterranean Disturbed Sandy Coast

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