The role of alien plants in the natural coastal vegetation in central-northern Spain

Campos, Juan Antonio; Herrera, Mercedes; Biurrun, Idoia; Arregui, Javier José Loidi

doi:10.1023/b:bioc.0000047902.27442.92

Cited by 125 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…In accordance with data reported for other European coastal dunes (Acosta et al 2008;Campos et al 2004), our analysis confirmed that the mean proportion of aliens was negatively related to plot species richness. In the 1950s, the proportion of invaders was highest in the Cakile maritima community, resulting in the lowest value in the TortuloScabiosetum community, thereby actually following the sea-inland typical zonation with increasing richness from the upper beach to the semi-fixed dunes.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…The alien species pool Our analysis revealed a level of invasion similar to those observed in other regional and habitat-specific studies (Campos et al 2004;Chytrý et al 2008b;Vilà et al 2007). In other words, when coastal, littoral, and riverine habitats are subject to high human and/or naturally induced disturbance and high propagule pressure, they also harbour a large number and proportion of alien species.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Most of the alien species recorded within the vegetation plots were therophytes and, secondarily, geophytes or hemicryptophytes, which have been proved to be well suited to changing environments such as those of coastal dunes (Acosta et al 2008;Campos et al 2004). Species with a short life-history (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The response of plant community diversity to alien invasion: evidence from a sand dune time series

2014

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This study examines the process of invasion of coastal dunes in north-eastern Italy along a 60-year time series considering alien attributes (origin, residence time, invasive status, and growth form strategy) and habitat properties (species richness, diversity and evenness, proportion of aliens, and proportion of focal species). Vegetation changes through time were investigated in four sandy coastal habitats, using a fine-scale diachronic approach that compared vegetation data collected by use of the same procedure, in four time periods, from the 1950s to 2011. Our analysis revealed an overall significant decline of species richness over the last six decades. Further, both the average number of species per plot and the mean focal species proportion were proved to be negatively affected by the increasing proportion of alien species at plot level. The severity of the impact, however, was found to be determined by a combination of species attributes, habitat properties, and human disturbance suggesting that alien species should be referred to as ''passengers'' and not as ''drivers'' of ecosystem change. Passenger alien species are those which take advantage of disturbances or other changes to which they are adapted but that lead to a decline in native biodiversity. Their spread is facilitated by widespread anthropogenic environmental alterations, which create new, suitable habitats, and ensure human-assisted dispersal, reducing the distinctiveness of plant communities and inducing a process of biotic homogenization.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

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The response of plant community diversity to alien invasion: evidence from a sand dune time series

2014

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“…The distribution of Spartina patens is expanding in northern Spain (Campos et al 2004) and this species is recognized as undesirable in this region and elsewhere (Frenkel and Boss 1988;Ayres et al 2004); however, few studies have explored potential consequences of S. patens invasion on salt marsh functioning. Our study suggests that the impacts of S. patens invasion may extend beyond the more obvious changes in native plant abundance, to include differing responses in the cycling of organic matter between detritivore and insect herbivore food web pathways.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of non-native Spartina patens on plant and sediment organic matter carbon incorporation into the local invertebrate community

et al. 2010

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The cycling of organic matter through food webs is a fundamental process that may be altered by the invasion of non-indigenous plants. We explored consequences of the invasion of non-indigenous Spartina patens to the composition of soil organic matter (SOM) and to detritivore and herbivore diets in the upper salt marsh within Corrubedo National Park, northwest Spain. We tested for the incorporation of S. patens carbon (C) into SOM and by detritivores and herbivores using stable isotope analysis, focusing primarily on detritivorous enchytraeid oligochaetes and herbivorous insects. Stable isotope results indicated that C derived from S. patens has been incorporated into SOM. Elevated densities of enchytraeids in stands of S. patens, and their incorporation of C derived from this plant, suggested that dense patches of S. patens may facilitate detritivore populations. In contrast, although insect herbivores used S. patens as habitat, there was little isotopic evidence for the widespread incorporation of S. patens-derived C by these consumers. The population and dietary response of enchytraeids to S. patens suggests that S. patens invasion could indirectly influence soil processes and pathways mediated by detritivore activity (e.g., soil respiration rates, nutrient retention and transformation, energy flow). The loss of food resources to insect herbivores alters local food webs. However, insect herbivores may move and feed on native plants elsewhere. As a result, insect populations may be less immediately impacted than soil detritivore populations by S. patens. Our study suggests that the influences of S. patens invasion extend beyond the more obvious changes in native plant abundance, to include differing responses in the cycling of organic matter between detritivore and insect herbivore food web pathways.

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“…Paspalum vaginatum is very useful for dune stabilization and erosion control because its initial establishment is very fast in these environments (Shaw & Allen 2003). However, it may behave as a weed and compete with other native species when it is introduced into natural ecosystems (Campos et al 2004;Riefner et al 2010).…”

Section: Short Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Freeze tolerance differs between two ecotypes of Paspalum vaginatum (Poaceae)

et al. 2016

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Morphological and physiological responses to freezing were evaluated in two ecotypes of the perennial turfgrass Paspalum vaginatum. Leaf extension rate, number of active meristems, leaf water potential and net photosynthesis were measured on plants of both a commercial cultivar, 'Sea Isle 2000', and a wild ecotype from the Flooding Pampa grasslands of Argentina. Plants were propagated by cloning, cultivated in pots, and examined during 18 consecutive days under two treatments: a non-frozen control treatment (15.5±7 ºC) and a frozen treatment with two stages: Stage 1 with four hours of freezing stress for 10 nights (-5ºC), and Stage 2 with 12 hours of freezing stress for eight nights (five nights at -5ºC and three nights at -8ºC). After these treatments, plants were returned to the outside environment to evaluate shoot injury and post-freezing recovery. Leaf water potential, net photosynthesis and leaf extension rate were significantly higher in the wild ecotype than in the commercial cultivar. Meristem density was reduced after freezing in both ecotypes, but was more pronounced in the commercial cultivar (98.5%) than in the wild ecotype (80%). Thus, the two ecotypes coming from different environments, exhibited different morphological and physiological responses to exposure to freezing temperatures.

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The role of alien plants in the natural coastal vegetation in central-northern Spain

Cited by 125 publications

References 15 publications

The response of plant community diversity to alien invasion: evidence from a sand dune time series

The response of plant community diversity to alien invasion: evidence from a sand dune time series

Effects of non-native Spartina patens on plant and sediment organic matter carbon incorporation into the local invertebrate community

Freeze tolerance differs between two ecotypes of Paspalum vaginatum (Poaceae)

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