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Growth, phenology, and biomass allocation of alien S olidago species in central E urope
Author(s) -
Szymura Magdalena,
Szymura Tomasz H.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
plant species biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.419
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1442-1984
pISSN - 0913-557X
DOI - 10.1111/1442-1984.12059
Subject(s) - biology , gigantea , biomass (ecology) , botany , phenology , invasive species , ecology
Plant invasion is a major threat to the integrity of an ecosystem. Exceptionally successful invaders in E urope are the A merican species of S olidago genus. In this study we examined growth, reproduction, and phenology of S olidago species, of A merican origin, growing in central E urope ( S. altissima , S. canadensis , S. gigantea , S. graminifolia ). These taxa were compared with two native species: S olidago virgaurea and T anacetum vulgare . We observed high differentiation in height, number of shoots, and biomass production between individuals within taxa. Generally, the invasive species produced substantially (two to five times) more biomass than the native ones, being statistically significant in the comparison of alien S olidago graminifolia and S. gigantea versus native S. virgaurea and T. vulgare . The ratio of biomass of reproductive parts to overall biomass varied considerably among years, but generally the lowest one was for S olidago altissima , and the highest for S. graminifolia . It shows a lack of a clear pattern of differentiation between alien and native species in terms of biomass investment in reproduction. We observed a general tendency of allocation of a major part of biomass in rhizomes by phalanx species ( S. graminifolia and S. gigantea ), while species with guerrilla strategy ( S. altissima and S. canadensis ) invested more biomass in stems and leaves. However, because of the high variability there was no clear, stable pattern of statistically significant differences between these two groups. The results suggest that S. graminifolia reveals a strong potential of invasion, in spite of its, so far limited, distribution in Europe.