Variation Among Genotypes and Source Habitats in Growth and Fecundity of the Wetland Invasive Plant Phalaris arundinacea L

Abstract

The spread of invasive wetland plants has resulted in a number of negative impacts to wetland habitats including reductions in biodiversity, displacement of native plants, and altered water flow. Phalaris arundinacea L. (Reed canarygrass) is a highly competitive invasive plant in North American wetlands. While research has focused on growth characteristics and competitive ability of P. arundinacea in wetland habitats, little is known about how its growth in upland conditions differs from that in wetlands. To characterize differences in growth between upland and wetland habitats, we conducted a 13-month field experiment of unconstrained growth of P. arundinacea in upland and wetland conditions. A suite of traits was measured in genotypes collected from upland and wetland habitats. Although P. arundinacea most often occurs in wetlands, there was significantly higher growth and fecundity in the dry soil treatment. All of the growth traits measured varied among genotypes, a few varied between the habitats of origin, and significant interactions were found between habitat of origin and soil moisture treatment for several traits. The significant genetic variation observed suggests that there is potential for local adaptation to upland habitats. The higher growth and fecundity in upland conditions highlights the need for additional research to investigate P. arundinacea establishment capacity and competitiveness in upland habitats.

A mosaic of phenotypic variation in giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida): Local‐ and continental‐scale patterns in a range‐expanding agricultural weed

“…Weedy and invasive species should be particularly useful for investigating patterns of morphological variation and adaptation at multiple spatial scales. Because many such species are geographically widespread and occur in a range of distinct habitats (e.g., Nelson & Anderson, ), they should experience a complicated mosaic of selection pressures. Many weedy and invasive species also harbor substantial genetic and/or phenotypic variability at the population level (Clements et al., ; Dlugosch & Parker, ; Lavergne & Molofsky, ; Vigueira, Olsen, & Caicedo, ; Warwick, Thompson, & Black, ), making it possible that spatial patterns of selection could yield corresponding patterns of phenotypic variation.…”

“…Intraspecific trait variation is common in many species, reflecting processes such as local adaptation, phenotypic plasticity, and variable gene flow across the landscape (Albert, Grassein, Schurr, Vieilledent, & Violle, 2011). Particularly for species with large geographic distributions and ecological amplitudes, these processes may yield complex, non-neutral spatial patterns of intraspecific variation (Bhattarai et al, 2017;Nelson & Anderson, 2015). A large geographic range enhances the breadth of bioclimatic variation a species encounters, and selection in response to such spatially continuous variation should result in trait autocorrelation among nearby populations (Murray, Brown, & Grace, 2003).…”

Compensatory light utilization of Phalaris arundinacea within the Phalaris arundinacea–Phragmites australis compound community

“…Likewise, the stable coexistence of P. arundinacea and P. australis in the Zhenjiang Waterfront Wetland must be the result of the combined effect of many factors, including the density effect of P. australis. In addition to the density effect of P. australis, many other obvious differences were observed between the two species, including the growth period, plant height, light compensation point, and root depth (Lavergne and Molofsky 2006;Zhang and Luo 2008;Fu et al 2011;Ge et al 2011;Nelson and Anderson 2015). In particular, Fu Weiguo suggested that despite the stronger competitiveness of P. australis compared with P. arundinacea, the latter's earlier germination of about 30 days resulting from the difference in growth period may have allowed this species to establish rapidly and preempt the establishment of P. australis, and the absence of shading by P. australis would also have been very beneficial for the early growth of P. arundinacea during this period Fu et al 2011).…”

Throwing Out the Bathwater but Keeping the Baby: Lessons Learned from Purple Loosestrife and Reed Canarygrass

“…Nelson et al (2014) determined that the population genetic structure of wild, forage, and ornamental European and North American reed canarygrass harbored a high amount of genetic diversity within, as opposed to among, populations. Subsequent research has reconfirmed this in additional populations (Anderson et al, 2018;Nelson and Anderson, 2015). Thus, range expansion of P. arundinacea in North America is not a result of hybridization among European, forage, and North American individuals (Jakubowski et al, 2011) despite unsubstantiated theories to the contrary (Lavergne and Molofsky, 2007).…”