Polygonum cuspidatum (Polygonaceae) Genetic Diversity in a Small Region of Eastern Kentucky

Wymer, Carol L.; Gardner, J. F.; Steinberger, Zach; Peyton, David K.

doi:10.3101/1098-7096(2007)68[89:pcpgdi]2.0.co;2

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 9 publications

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“…Although some sexual reproduction occurs in invasive populations of F. japonica ( Forman and Kesseli 2003 , Bram and McNair 2004 , Grimsby et al 2007 , Wymer et al 2007 ), the species spreads mainly through rhizomes ( Pyšek et al 2003 , Bram and McNair 2004 ), a dispersal habit leading frequently to invasions along rivers, streams, roadways, and other edge habitats where disturbance levels are high ( Barney et al 2006 ). Once established, F. japonica forms dense thickets that can be up to three meters tall, affecting light levels that reach the forest floor and reducing photosynthetic production by co-occurring plants ( Siemens and Blossey 2007 , Urgenson et al 2014 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understory dominance and the new climax: Impacts of Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) invasion on native plant diversity and recruitment in a riparian woodland

Wilson¹,

Freundlich²,

Martine³

2017

BDJ

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Riparian forests exhibit levels of ecological disturbance that leave them especially prone to biological invasions. Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is particularly suited to these habitats and is an aggressive invader along watercourses throughout its now-global range as an exotic invader. Using one of the few Silver Maple Floodplain Forest communities that has not been invaded by F. japonica in the West Branch Susquehanna River valley (Pennsylvania, USA) as a baseline, this study examines whether and how this primarily intact riparian forest community differs from nearby invaded communities in terms of 1) native species richness, 2) native species density, and 3) riparian forest tree recruitment. Defining a baseline (intact) community composition will inform restoration plans for local riparian forests where knotweed might be eradicated or reduced. Invaded and non-invaded sites differed statistically across species richness, species density, and tree recruitment. Our results suggest that F. japonica has reduced the diversity and abundance of native understory riparian plant species. The species also appears to have suppressed long-term tree recruitment, setting up a trajectory whereby the eventual decline of trees currently in the canopy could shift this community from a tree-dominated riparian forest to a knotweed-dominated herbaceous shrubland.

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