TY - JOUR

T1 - The impact of two non-native plant species on native flora performance: potential implications for habitat restoration

AU - Tanner, Rob

AU - Gange, Alan

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - Both Impatiens glandulifera and Fallopiajaponica are highly invasive plant species that havedetrimental impacts on native biodiversity in areaswhere they invade and form dense monocultures. Bothspecies are weakly dependent on arbuscular mycorrhizalfungi (AMF) for their growth and, therefore,under monotypic stands, the AMF network canbecome depauperate. We evaluated the impact ofI. glandulifera and F. japonica on the performance(expressed as shoot biomass) of three UK nativespecies (Plantago lanceolata, Lotus corniculatus andTrifolium pratense) grown in soil collected from understands of both invasive plants and compared to plantsgrown in soil from under stands of the correspondingnative vegetation. All native species had a higherpercentage colonisation of AMF when grown inuninvaded soil compared to the corresponding invadedsoil. P. lanceolata and L. corniculatus had a higherbiomass when grown in uninvaded soil compared tocorresponding invaded soil indicating an indirectimpact from the non-native species. However, forT. pratense there was no difference in biomass betweensoil types related to I. glandulifera, suggesting that thespecies is more reliant on rhizobial bacteria. Weconclude that simply managing invasive populationsof non-native species that are weakly, or non-dependent,on AMF is inadequate for habitat restoration asnative plant colonisation and establishment may behindered by the depleted levels of AMF in the soilbelow invaded monocultures. We suggest that thereintroduction of native plants to promote AMFproliferation should be incorporated into future managementplans for habitats degraded by non-nativeplant species

AB - Both Impatiens glandulifera and Fallopiajaponica are highly invasive plant species that havedetrimental impacts on native biodiversity in areaswhere they invade and form dense monocultures. Bothspecies are weakly dependent on arbuscular mycorrhizalfungi (AMF) for their growth and, therefore,under monotypic stands, the AMF network canbecome depauperate. We evaluated the impact ofI. glandulifera and F. japonica on the performance(expressed as shoot biomass) of three UK nativespecies (Plantago lanceolata, Lotus corniculatus andTrifolium pratense) grown in soil collected from understands of both invasive plants and compared to plantsgrown in soil from under stands of the correspondingnative vegetation. All native species had a higherpercentage colonisation of AMF when grown inuninvaded soil compared to the corresponding invadedsoil. P. lanceolata and L. corniculatus had a higherbiomass when grown in uninvaded soil compared tocorresponding invaded soil indicating an indirectimpact from the non-native species. However, forT. pratense there was no difference in biomass betweensoil types related to I. glandulifera, suggesting that thespecies is more reliant on rhizobial bacteria. Weconclude that simply managing invasive populationsof non-native species that are weakly, or non-dependent,on AMF is inadequate for habitat restoration asnative plant colonisation and establishment may behindered by the depleted levels of AMF in the soilbelow invaded monocultures. We suggest that thereintroduction of native plants to promote AMFproliferation should be incorporated into future managementplans for habitats degraded by non-nativeplant species

M3 - Article

JO - Plant Ecology

JF - Plant Ecology

M1 - DOI 10.1007/s11258-013-0179-9

ER -