Leaf trait relationships of native and invasive plants: community‐ and global‐scale comparisons

Abstract

Summary• Leaf carbon capture strategies of native and exotic invasive plants were compared by examining leaf traits and their scaling relationships at community and global scales.• Community-level leaf trait data were obtained for 55 vascular plant species from nutrient-enriched and undisturbed bushland in Sydney, Australia. Global-scale leaf trait data were compiled from the literature for 75 native and 90 exotic invasive coexisting species.• At the community level, specific leaf area (SLA), foliar nitrogen and phosphorus ( N mass and P mass ) and N:P ratio were significantly higher for exotics at disturbed sites compared with natives at undisturbed sites, with natives at disturbed sites being intermediate. SLA, N mass and P mass were positively correlated, with significant shifts in group means along a common standardized major axis (SMA) slope. At the global scale, invasives had significantly higher N mass , P mass , assimilation rate ( A mass and A area ) and leaf area ratio (LAR) than natives. All traits showed positive correlations, with significant shifts in group means along a common slope. For a given SLA, invasives had higher A mass (7.7%) and N mass (28%).• Thus, exotic invasives do not have fundamentally different carbon capture strategies from natives but are positioned further along the leaf economics spectrum towards faster growth strategies. Species with leaf traits enabling rapid growth will be successful invaders when introduced to novel environments where resources are not limited.

Climate modifies response of non-native and native species richness to nutrient enrichment

“…This could be due to differences in functional traits between native and non-native species, such as differences in water use efficiency, growth rates or phenology [12,18,43]. At the same time, the association between some of these climate variables and non-native species abundance or richness could also be reflecting a strong association between non-native species and human activity in the invaded communities [51].…”

“…At the same time, plant traits related to these functions (i.e. traits related to resource capture, water use efficiency and growth rates) tend to differ between non-native and native species [12,43], and vary along gradients on these three climate variables [44]. rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org Phil.…”

Synergy between pathogen release and resource availability in plant invasion

“…Conversely, enemy release might be an unlikely explanation for invasion by slow-growing or unapparent species, or for invasion of resource-poor or frequently disturbed ecosystems. Such differential enemy release may help to explain why plants with rapid growth rates, and other traits associated with rapid resource acquisition, tend be most invasive (11)(12)(13)(14); but see ref. 15), and why resource-rich environments tend to be relatively invasible (4)(5)(6)61).…”

“…Factors that decrease resource uptake (e.g., disturbances that remove plant biomass or reductions in plant diversity) increase resource availability and tend to increase plant invasion (9,10). Common traits of invasive species, such as high fecundity, specific leaf area, photosynthesis, and growth, also suggest a positive relationship between resource availability and invasion (11)(12)(13)(14); but see ref. 15).…”

Seasonal variation of soluble carbohydrates and starch in Echinolaena inflexa, a native grass species from the Brazilian savanna, and in the invasive grass Melinis minutiflora

“…M. minutiflora may have competitive advantage at the Reserve border thanks to the carbohydrates accumulated in the root system, in addition to the more efficient photosynthetic metabolism characteristic of C 4 grasses. According to Leishman et al (2007), the potential for rapid growth associated with an efficient…”