Disturbance, Trait Similarities, and Trait Advantages Facilitate the Invasion Success of Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb.

Abstract

Riparian wetlands suffer serious plant invasion. Natural habitats and disturbance are two prominent environmental factors affecting the invasion process of exotic riparian invaders. In this study, a noxious invasive riparian plant, Alternanthera philoxeroides, and its native congener, Alternanthera sessilis were cultivated in three different riparian soils with different statuses of disturbance by cow manure addition. After harvest, we measured plant morphological traits including the internode length (INL), rooted node number (RNN), specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf mass ratio (LMR), and physiological traits including the maximal quantum yield (Fv/Fm), chlorophyll content (Ct), leaf nitrogen content (Nmass), leaf carbon/nitrogen ratio (C/N ratio), leaf construction cost per leaf area (CCarea), and non‐structural carbohydrate content (NSCC). Fertilization was found to improve the performances of most traits for both species similarly. Both species shared some similarities in trait values of SLA, LMR, CCarea and NSCC, and trait plasticity in NSCC in unfertilized sediments and SLA, LMR, C/N ratio, and CCarea in fertilized sediments. Moreover, compared to A. sessilis, A. philoxeroides showed some advantages in trait values of RNN in unfertilized sediments and Ct, Nmass, and C/N ratio in the most fertile treatments, and trait plasticity in INL, RNN, SLA, Ct, Nmass, and CCarea across different sediments. In conclusion, the disturbance, trait similarities, and trait advantages likely promote the invasion success of A. philoxeroides.

The Effect of Submergence and Eutrophication on the Trait’s Performance of Wedelia Trilobata over Its Congener Native Wedelia Chinensis

“…WC maintained a higher root-to-shoot ratio in all treatments under monoculture, which was the plants strategy to cope with submergence and eutrophication [36], while WT maintained a better stem mass ratio under all treatments in monoculture, because adventitious roots were a tolerance stratagem of WT to survive these conditions and also provided structural stability to maintain sexual reproduction [7,24]. Total biomass of both species was increased under both submergence and three nutrient levels' interaction because more than 65% of plants of both species were above the water surface due to plant height elongation [47]. Submerged plants have less biomass compared to plants above the water surface, which agreed with our finding [48].…”

<em>Ficus tikoua </em>Bur. May Have Resistance to Invasive Plant <em>Alternanthera philoxeroides</em>

“…Wei et al, (2016) implemented greenhouse experiments to examine the interaction between a native defoliating beetle, Cassida piperata, and a native root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, on the invasive alligator weed, A.philoxeroides. Natural habitats and disturbance are two prominent environmental factors affecting the invasion process of exotic invaders (Wang et al, 2017). Another study by Wang et al, (2018) explored the phenotypic responses of clonal populations of the invasive plant A. philoxeroides and three co-occurring non-invasive clonal species, i.e., A. sessilis, Myriophyllum aquaticum and Jussiaea repens, to different levels of fluctuating flood disturbances using a mesocosm experiment.…”

The Alien Invader, Rhus typhina L., Outperforms Its Native Competitor in the Scenario of Nitrogen Deposition and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) Inoculation

“…For instance, Valliere et al [10] showed that nitrogen enrichment exacerbated the loss of native plants and indirectly increased the cover and biomass of nonnative annuals. Wang et al [11] reported that sediment eutrophication induced a higher trait plasticity of leaf nitrogen concentration and chlorophyll concentration for the invasive Alternanthera philoxeroides, which enabled the invasive species to outcompete the native congener A. sessilis. Luo et al [12] found that phenotypic plasticity of traits such as leaf area and belowground biomass explained the competitive advantage of the invasive population of Plantago virginica over its native population.…”