Getting the Right Traits: Reproductive and Dispersal Characteristics Predict the Invasiveness of Herbaceous Plant Species

Moravcová, Lenka; Pyšek, Petr; Jaros̆ı́k, Vojtĕch; Pergl, Jan

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0123634

Cited by 96 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 92 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Of particular importance are the suite of traits of IAS that differ from those of native species and noninvasive alien species. A trait-based priority list of potentially highly invasive species can then be developed (Peacock and Worner 2008;Moravcová et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining invasiveness and invasibility in ecological networks

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The success of a biological invasion is context dependent, and yet two key concepts-the invasiveness of species and the invasibility of recipient ecosystems-are often defined and considered separately. We propose a framework that can elucidate the complex relationship between invasibility and invasiveness. It is based on trait-mediated interactions between species and depicts the response of an ecological network to the intrusion of an alien species, drawing on the concept of community saturation. Here, invasiveness of an introduced species with a particular trait is measured by its per capita population growth rate when the initial propagule pressure of the introduced species is very low. The invasibility of the recipient habitat or ecosystem is dependent on the structure of the resident ecological network and is defined as the total width of an opportunity niche in the trait space susceptible to invasion. Invasibility is thus a measure of network instability. We also correlate invasibility with the asymptotic stability of resident ecological network, measured by the leading eigenvalue of the interaction matrix that depicts traitbased interaction intensity multiplied by encounter rate (a pairwise product of propagule pressure of all members in a community). We further examine the relationship between invasibility and network architecture, including network connectance, nestedness and modularity. We exemplify this framework with a trait-based assembly model under perturbations in ways to emulate fluctuating resources and random trait composition in ecological networks. The maximum invasiveness of a potential invader (greatest Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining invasiveness and invasibility in ecological networks

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Nevertheless, some plant traits related to reproductive and dispersal characteristics have been suggested to be of key importance to invasiveness, such as plant growth rate, seed size, and distance of seed dispersal 7, 12–14 . For example, previous studies have shown that greater plant growth accounts for the invasiveness of many alien plant species 15 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecotypic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity combine to enhance the invasiveness of the most widespread daisy in Chile, Leontodon saxatilis

Martín‐Forés

Avilés

Gallo

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dispersal and reproductive traits of successful plant invaders are expected to undergo strong selection during biological invasions. Numerous Asteraceae are invasive and display dimorphic fruits within a single flower head, resulting in differential dispersal pathways -wind-dispersed fruits vs. nondispersing fruits. We explored ecotypic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity of seed output and fruit dimorphisms in exotic Chilean and native Spanish populations of Leontodon saxatilis subsp. rothii. We collected flower heads from populations in Spain and Chile along a rainfall gradient. Seeds from all populations were planted in reciprocal transplant trials in Spain and Chile to explore their performance in the native and invasive range. We scored plant biomass, reproductive investment and fruit dimorphism. We observed strong plasticity, where plants grown in the invasive range had much greater biomass, flower head size and seed output, with a higher proportion of wind-dispersed fruits, than those grown in the native range. We also observed a significant ecotype effect, where the exotic populations displayed higher proportions of wind-dispersed fruits than native populations. Together, these patterns reflect a combination of phenotypic plasticity and ecotypic differentiation, indicating that Leontodon saxatilis has probably increased propagule pressure and dispersal distances in its invasive range to enhance its invasiveness.The impacts of invasive plant species on resident communities and ecosystem functions are a global concern, which has led to considerable resources being invested into studying invasiveness. Of particular importance is predicting which plants will become invasive. The invasiveness of alien plants depends on the habitat characteristics of the recipient area (e.g. the fluctuating resource availability theory 1 ), as well as on species traits 2 . The characteristics of recipient habitats have received considerable attention 3, 4 , highlighting that the habitats more prone to be invaded are those that are more productive or more disturbed 5,6 . However, despite some recent attention, understanding the role played by species traits in the invasion process still remains a key knowledge gap in invasion biology 7,8 .These knowledge gaps exist because invasion success is primarily studied species-by-species 9, 10 , but these gaps also exist because most studies do not compare species traits in native and invasive ranges 11 . Nevertheless, some plant traits related to reproductive and dispersal characteristics have been suggested to be of key importance to invasiveness, such as plant growth rate, seed size, and distance of seed dispersal 7, 12-14 . For example, previous studies have shown that greater plant growth accounts for the invasiveness of many alien plant species 15 . Likewise,

show abstract

“…However, the presence of shading favored anemochoric individuals, thus increasing their numbers in comparison with the number of individuals in the absence of shading. These anemochoric species produce seeds and vegetative propagules with great potential for colonization and reproduction (Moravcová et al, 2015).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of topsoil for restoration of a degraded pasture área

Pereira

Amaral

Silva

et al. 2017

Pesq. agropec. bras.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

-The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of topsoil thickness, shading and origin when performing environmental restoration in a degraded pasture area. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with a factorial (3 x 2 x 2) + 2 layout. Treatments consisted of combinations of topsoil origins (forest at early or middle regeneration stages), topsoil thicknesses (10, 20, or 30-cm superficial soil layer), and presence or absence of 70% shading; with two additional control treatments. Surveys on topsoil physical-chemical attributes and flora and soil coverage were conducted. Good correlation was observed between bulk density and total porosity. Vegetation comprised a total of 2,932 individuals of herbaceous, shrub and subshrub plants; 33 species in 11 families and 1 morphospecies were identified. A floristic survey of the tree stratum revealed 235 individuals belonging to 21 species and 14 families, as well as 2 unidentified species. The best natural regeneration index is observed in the 20-cm topsoil layer, where shading exerts a positive influence on the humidity and natural regeneration of the seed bank. Topsoil from middle-stage forest is the most suitable for restoration of degraded pasture areas.

show abstract

Getting the Right Traits: Reproductive and Dispersal Characteristics Predict the Invasiveness of Herbaceous Plant Species

Cited by 96 publications

References 92 publications

Defining invasiveness and invasibility in ecological networks

Defining invasiveness and invasibility in ecological networks

Ecotypic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity combine to enhance the invasiveness of the most widespread daisy in Chile, Leontodon saxatilis

Use of topsoil for restoration of a degraded pasture área

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About