Mechanism of Invasion and Dominance of Coastal Grassland by Mesembryanthemum crystallinum

Vivrette, Nancy J.; Muller, Cornelius H.

doi:10.2307/1942519

Cited by 188 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…M. crystallinum concentrates sodium chloride in its tissues (Vivrette and Muller 1977) and this elevates soil salinity (as was recorded in Rottnest shearwater colonies by Bancroft et al 2004a). This can inhibit less salttolerant species, and encourage the spread of halophiles, as evidenced by the prevalence of the halophytic T. implexicoma and R. baccata in the colony in this study (Brown et al 1993;Abbott et al 2000).…”

Section: Community Compositionsupporting

confidence: 58%

“…In particular, large tracts of the colony were covered by a monoculture of the aggressive, invasive, coprophilic, annual Mesembryanthemum crystallinum. The short life cycle and rapid germination of M. crystallinum is advantageous in the highly disturbed soil environment of the colony (Vivrette and Muller 1977). Patches of bare ground, which result from shearwater digging, are particularly favourable to the settlement of this species (Vivrette and Muller 1977).…”

Section: Community Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The short life cycle and rapid germination of M. crystallinum is advantageous in the highly disturbed soil environment of the colony (Vivrette and Muller 1977). Patches of bare ground, which result from shearwater digging, are particularly favourable to the settlement of this species (Vivrette and Muller 1977). A similar pattern of invasion was observed on Carnac Island, 13 km to the south of Rottnest, where M. crystallinum was first recorded in 1975, in association with seabird colonies, and today dominates half of the island to the exclusion of native species (Abbott et al 2000).…”

Section: Community Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Burrowing seabirds drive decreased diversity and structural complexity, and increased productivity in insular-vegetation communities

Bancroft¹,

Roberts²,

Garkaklis³

2005

Aust. J. Bot.

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Abstract. Burrow-nesting seabirds, such as the wedge-tailed shearwater (Puffinus pacificus (Gmelin)) physically and chemically engineer the soil of their colonies in a manner that is likely to affect plant growth and ecology. We examined this functional interaction by measuring the diversity, vertical structure and productivity of vegetation in shearwater colonies on Rottnest Island, Western Australia, and by comparing these with those in the adjacent, non-colonised heath. The colony supported a distinct, less diverse vegetation community and was dominated by short-lived, succulent exotics. An ecotone was present between the two communities. Across all species, vegetation was shorter and denser in the colony and individual species that co-occurred in both locations were stunted in the colony. The percentage of bare soil in the colony was double that of the heath. The productivity of a phytometer (Rhagodia baccata) was significantly higher in colony soil than in heath soil. In a glasshouse experiment, cuttings grown in colony soil had 337% of the root mass and 537% of the foliage mass of plants grown in heath soil. Field measurements demonstrated increased leaf set and foliage extension in colony plants. Seed germination from the colony soil (2674 seedlings m −2 ) greatly exceeded that of the heath (59 seedlings m −2 ). Dense, productive and species-poor colony vegetation supports the assemblage-level thinning hypothesis as the mechanism for vegetation change, but we argue that prominent colony species are simply better adapted to high nutrient loads and frequent disturbance. A model of vegetation succession is also proposed.

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Section: Community Compositionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Section: Community Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Community Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Burrowing seabirds drive decreased diversity and structural complexity, and increased productivity in insular-vegetation communities

Bancroft¹,

Roberts²,

Garkaklis³

2005

Aust. J. Bot.

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“…The invasion of California south coastal grasslands by Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. (crystalline iceplant) is aided by its salt concentrating ability that changes soil salinity. This ability is lacking in native species (Vivrette and Muller 1977). Dominance of Centaurea solstitialis L. (yellow starthistle), a summer-active annual species, into western North American grasslands is aided by its ability to access deep stores of water that are unexploited by the winter-annual dominant grassland vegetation (Sheley and Larson 1995;Gerlach 2004;Enloe et al 2004).…”

Section: Life History and Competitive Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Not novel, just better: competition between native and non-native plants in California grasslands that share species traits

Corbin

D’Antonio

2010

Plant Ecol

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Invasive plants have often been shown to possess novel traits such as the ability to fix nitrogen, access unused resource pools, or the ability to exude allelopathic chemicals. We describe a case of a successful invasion where the native and non-native species are very similar in most life-history characteristics including their growth forms, lifespan, and degree of summertime activity. Data from permanent transects suggest that exotic perennial grass invaders can establish into intact native-dominated grasslands, achieving cover values from 6 to 71% over several years. We also established a 4-year competition experiment to test the effect of each group-the native and non-native perennial grasses-on the other. Competitive interactions were found to consistently favor the non-native grasses: native perennial grass productivity was significantly lower in plots with exotic perennial grasses as compared to plots without exotic perennial grasses. By contrast, productivity of the exotic perennial grasses was not reduced by the presence of the native perennial grasses. These results suggest that competitive ability, rather than a unique trait, has contributed to the success of the exotic perennial grasses in our system. Management tools to control exotic perennial grass invasions are likely to negatively influence native perennial grass populations, as strategies that succeed against the invasive species may kill or reduce the native species as well.

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“…Examples of ecosystem engineers have been reported for both plants and animals within a broad spectrum of ecosystems, including coral reefs and estuaries (Bruno and Bertness 2001), woodlands (Vitousek et al 1987), grasslands (Vivrette et al 1977), and freshwater systems (Steenkamp and Chown 1996). In wetlands, when an invasive plant that is an ecosystem engineer colonizes a habitat, it can modify the community structure and the entire ecosystem by altering nutrient cycling, productivity, hydrology, particle flux, and habitat availability (Talley and Levin 2001;Crooks 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of invasive Spartina growth stages on associated macrofaunal communities

et al. 2007

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In coastal wetlands, invasive plants often act as ecosystem engineers altering flow, light and sediments which, in turn, can affect benthic animal communities. However, the degree of influence of the engineer will vary significantly as it grows, matures and senesces, and surprisingly little is known about how the influence of an ecosystem engineer varies with ontogeny. We address this issue on the tidal flats of San Francisco Bay where hybrid Spartina (foliosa · alterniflora) invaded 30 years ago. The invasion has altered the physico-chemical properties of the sediment habitat, which we predicted should cause changes in macrofaunal community structure and function. Through mensurative and manipulative approaches we investigated the influence of different growth stages of hybrid Spartina on macrobenthos and the underlying mechanisms. Cross-elevation sampling transects were established covering 5 zones (or stages) of the invasion, running from the tidal flat (pre-invasion) to an unvegetated dieback zone. Additionally, we experimentally removed aboveground plant structure in the mature (inner) marsh to mimic the 'unvegetated areas'. Our results revealed four distinct faunal assemblages, which reflected Spartina-induced changes in the corresponding habitat properties along an elevation gradient: a pre-invaded tidal flat, a leading edge of immature invasion, a center of mature invasion, and a senescing dieback area. These stages of hybrid Spartina invasion were accompanied by a substantial reduction in macrofaunal species richness and an increase in dominance, as well as a strong shift in feeding modes, from surface microalgal feeders to subsurface detritus/ Spartina feeders (mainly tubificid oligochaetes and capitellid polychaetes). Knowledge of the varying influence of plant invaders on the sediment ecosystem during different phases of invasion is critical for management of coastal wetlands.

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Mechanism of Invasion and Dominance of Coastal Grassland by Mesembryanthemum crystallinum

Cited by 188 publications

References 20 publications

Burrowing seabirds drive decreased diversity and structural complexity, and increased productivity in insular-vegetation communities

Burrowing seabirds drive decreased diversity and structural complexity, and increased productivity in insular-vegetation communities

Not novel, just better: competition between native and non-native plants in California grasslands that share species traits

Influence of invasive Spartina growth stages on associated macrofaunal communities

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