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Management intensity affects the relationship between non‐native and native species in subtropical wetlands
Author(s) -
Boughton Elizabeth H.,
QuintanaAscencio Pedro F.,
Nickerson David,
Bohlen Patrick J.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
applied vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.096
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1654-109X
pISSN - 1402-2001
DOI - 10.1111/j.1654-109x.2010.01116.x
Subject(s) - species richness , wetland , ecology , biomass (ecology) , introduced species , native plant , abiotic component , environmental science , invasive species , agronomy , biology
Question: Does management intensity affect the association between non‐native and native species and between non‐native species and soil nutrients in wetlands? Location: MacArthur Agro‐Ecology Research Center, Florida, USA. Methods: We evaluated native and non‐native plant richness and relative frequency in 15 1‐m 2 plots in 40 wetlands across two types of pastures, highly managed (fertilized, ditched, planted, heavily grazed by cattle) and semi‐natural (unfertilized, lightly seasonally grazed). Plant biomass was collected in five 0.25‐m 2 plots per wetland and sorted to species. Soil cores were collected to analyse soil total nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). An information‐theoretic approach was used to compare mixed effects models considering the association of non‐native richness, relative frequency, and biomass with native richness, relative frequency, biomass, C 3 grass relative frequency (a dominant native group), N, P and wetland‐type. Results: Non‐native richness was negatively correlated with native richness in semi‐natural wetlands, but there was no evidence of an association between these variables in highly managed wetlands. Non‐native richness increased with increasing soil N in semi‐natural wetlands, but not in the highly managed wetlands. Soil P was positively related to non‐native frequency in semi‐natural wetlands but negatively related in highly managed wetlands. Non‐native frequency and biomass were negatively related to relative frequency of C 3 grasses in both management types. Conclusions: Our results indicate that management intensity influences relationships between native and non‐native richness. Management intensity interacts with abiotic or biotic factors, such as soil nutrients and composition, in predicting where non‐native species will most likely need control.