Niche Filling Dynamics of Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) during Global Invasion

Abstract

Determining whether the climatic ecological niche of an invasive alien plant is similar to that of the niche occupied by its native population (ecological niche conservatism) is essential for predicting the plant invasion process. Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) usually poses serious threats to human health, agriculture, and ecosystems within its newly occupied range. We calculated the overlap, stability, unfilling, and expansion of ragweed’s climatic ecological niche using principal component analysis and performed ecological niche hypothesis testing. The current and potential distribution of A. artemisiifolia was mapped by ecological niche models to identify areas in China with the highest potential risk of A. artemisiifolia invasion. The high ecological niche stability indicates that A. artemisiifolia is ecologically conservative during the invasion. Ecological niche expansion (expansion = 0.407) occurred only in South America. In addition, the difference between the climatic and native niches of the invasive populations is mainly the result of unpopulated niches. The ecological niche model suggests that southwest China, which has not been invaded by A. artemisiifolia, faces an elevated risk of invasion. Although A. artemisiifolia occupies a climatic niche distinct from native populations, the climatic niche of the invasive population is only a subset of the native niche. The difference in climatic conditions is the main factor leading to the ecological niche expansion of A. artemisiifolia during the invasion. Additionally, human activities play a substantial role in the expansion of A. artemisiifolia. Alterations in the A. artemisiifolia niche would help explain why this species is so invasive in China.

Plant Invasion Ecology

“…Predictive modeling of the invasiveness and potential geographical distributions was developed for several widespread vascular plants: Pueraria montana (Fabaceae) [9] and Impatiens glandulifera (Balsaminaceae) [10] in North America and Tagetes minuta [11], Ageratina adenophora [12], and Ambrosia artemisiifolia [13] (all Asteraceae) in China. These models allow habitat suitability to be calculated for the invasive taxa and long-term projections of invasions to be made, thus helping to monitor and manage their spread in areas of concern.…”