The invasive plant Solidago canadensis exhibits partial local adaptation to low salinity at germination but not at later life‐history stages

Abstract

Premise Evolutionary adaptation may enable plants to inhabit a broad range of environments. However, germination and early life‐history stages have seldom been considered in estimates of evolutionary adaptation. Moreover, whether soil microbial communities can influence evolutionary adaptation in plants remains little explored. Methods We used reciprocal transplant experiments to investigate whether two populations of an invasive plant Solidago canadensis that occur in contrasting habitats of low versus high salinity expressed adaptation to the respective salinity levels. We germinated S. canadensis seeds collected from low‐and high‐salinity habitats under low‐ and high‐salt treatments. We also raised S. canadensis seedlings from the two salinity habitats under low‐ and high‐salt treatments and in the presence versus absence of microbial communities from the two habitats. Results Genotypes from a low‐salinity habitat had higher germination rates under low‐salt treatment than genotypes from a high‐salinity habitat. However, both genotypes had similar germination rates under a high‐salt treatment. The two genotypes also had similar seedling survival and biomass responses to low‐ and high‐salt treatments. Nevertheless, seedling biomass was significantly higher under low salt treatment. Soil microbial communities did not influence biomass of S. canadensis under the two salt treatments. Conclusions The results on germination rates suggest partial local adaptation to low salinity. However, there was no evidence of local adaptation to salinity at the seedling survival and growth stages. The finding that germination and seedling biomass responded to different salt treatments suggests that the two traits are important for salt tolerance.

Seed type and origin‐dependent seedling emergence patterns in Danthonia californica, a species commonly used in grassland restoration

“…advantages over a plant's life history, which are not always consistent with those of the establishment stage (Cheplick, 2023;Jin et al, 2020;Rice & Knapp, 2008).…”

“…It is possible that our findings may have been different had we returned in a subsequent season, as ungerminated, viable seeds may still have established. Additionally, adaptation patterns likely come from the accumulation of small fitness advantages over a plant's life history, which are not always consistent with those of the establishment stage (Cheplick, 2023 ; Jin et al, 2020 ; Rice & Knapp, 2008 ).…”

Physiology and transcriptome analysis of the response mechanism of Solidago canadensis to the nitrogen addition environment

“…Solidago canadensis L., native to North America, is an aggressive invasive plant that successfully invaded Europe, Australia, Asia and New Zealand ( Dong et al., 2006 ; Szymura and Szymura, 2013 ; Nolf et al., 2014 ; Gusev, 2015 ; Dong et al., 2017 ; Ye et al., 2019 ). The species can colonize different growth environments and exhibit a variety of phenotypes to adapt to these environments ( Li et al., 2016 ; Jin et al., 2020 ). Furthermore, recent studies have attempted to suggest that N deposition and enrichment may facilitate S. canadensis invasion and rapid adaptation ( Peng et al., 2019 ; Wan et al., 2019 ).…”

Multiple Introductions and Distinct Genetic Groups of Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) in China Revealed by Genomic Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms

“…Being native to North America, Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis L.) is now a notorious invasive weed globally [25][26][27]. It is a perennial forb that reproduces both clonally and sexually, imposes strong allelopathic effects on native plants, and shows phenotypic plasticity or local adaptation along environmental gradients, all of which benefit its rapid proliferation and dispersal with or without human-mediated activities [28][29][30][31]. In China, Canada goldenrod initially arrived in Shanghai as an ornamental garden plant in the 1930s [32].…”