Growth, biomass allocation, morphology, and photosynthesis of invasive Eupatorium adenophorum and its native congeners grown at four irradiances

Abstract

Eupatorium adenophorum is one of the more noxious invasive plants worldwide. However, the mechanisms underlying its invasiveness are still not well elucidated. In this study, we compared the invader with its two native congeners (E. heterophyllum and E. japonicum) at four irradiances in terms of growth, biomass allocation, morphology, and photosynthesis. The higher light-saturated photosynthetic rate (P max ) and total leaf area of the invader may contribute to its higher relative growth rate (RGR) and total biomass compared with its native congeners. Total biomass and RGR increased significantly with the increase of P max and total leaf area. The higher support organ mass fraction and the lower root mass fraction of the invader may also contribute to its higher RGR and biomass through increasing carbon assimilation and reducing respiratory carbon loss, respectively. The higher growth rate of the invader increased its total leaf area, ramet number, and crown area. These traits may help the invader to form dense monoculture, outshading native plant species. However, consistently higher leaf area ratio, specific leaf area, and leaf mass fraction were not found across irradiances for the invader compared with its native congeners. Higher plasticity in response to irradiance was also not found for the invader. The invader retained advantages over the natives across irradiances, while its performance decreased with lower irradiance. The results indicate that the invader may be one of the few super invaders. Reducing irradiance may inhibit its invasions.

Predicting Acacia invasive success in South Africa on the basis of functional traits, native climatic niche and human use

“…In a previous study on a wider set of Australian acacias, we also found that species native to moister and cooler regions have more chances of becoming invasive elsewhere (Castro-Díez et al 2011). Species evolved under low climatic stress have more chances to be selected for fast growth (Grime 1988) a feature frequently associated with invasiveness (Burns 2004; Grotkopp and Rejmánek 2007;Leishman et al 2007;Zheng et al 2009). An alternative explanation for this pattern may be Number of uses Abundance (b) (a) Fig.…”

Effect of picloram herbicide on physiological responses of Eupatorium adenophorum Spreng

“…It is now widely distributed in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Guangxi, and Xizang (Wei et al, 2011). Due to the fast spreading, the weed has caused significant damage to the ecological environment, economic development, and human health (Zheng et al, 2009). Chemical control of E. adenophorum was effective using herbicides such as glyphosate aqueous solution (Zhang et al, 2005), sulfometuron-methyl soluble powder (Huang et al, 2001), and picloram (Cao et al, 2006;Li et al, 2008).…”

Biomass allocation in Ziziphus spina-christi and the invasive species Prosopis juliflora

“…Although it is seldom found that an invasive species outperforms native species under all conditions (ZHENG et al, 2009), increasing resource availability often facilitates alien plant invasions (DAEHLER, 2003). Therefore, environmental conditions should be considered when identifying the traits contributing to invasiveness.…”