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Drowned, buried and carried away: effects of plant traits on the distribution of native and alien species in riparian ecosystems
Author(s) -
Catford Jane A.,
Jansson Roland
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.12951
Subject(s) - riparian zone , ecology , biological dispersal , biodiversity , propagule , ecosystem , plant community , propagule pressure , disturbance (geology) , seed dispersal , biology , invasive species , introduced species , geography , environmental science , species richness , habitat , population , paleontology , demography , sociology
Summary Riparian vegetation is exposed to stress from inundation and hydraulic disturbance, and is often rich in native and alien plant species. We describe 35 traits that enable plants to cope with riparian conditions. These include traits for tolerating or avoiding anoxia and enabling underwater photosynthesis, traits that confer resistance and resilience to hydraulic disturbance, and attributes that facilitate dispersal, such as floating propagules. This diversity of life‐history strategies illustrates that there are many ways of sustaining life in riparian zones, which helps to explain high riparian biodiversity. Using community assembly theory, we examine how adaptations to inundation, disturbance and dispersal shape plant community composition along key environmental gradients, and how human actions have modified communities. Dispersal‐related processes seem to explain many patterns, highlighting the influence of regional processes on local species assemblages. Using alien plant invasions like an (uncontrolled) experiment in community assembly, we use an A ustralian and a global dataset to examine possible causes of high degrees of riparian invasion. We found that high proportions of alien species in the regional species pools have invaded riparian zones, despite not being riparian specialists, and that riparian invaders disperse in more ways, including by water and humans, than species invading other ecosystems.ContentsSummary 19 I. Introduction 19 II. Functional traits and life‐history adaptations of riparian plants 20 III. Local and regional patterns in the distribution of riparian plants 24 IV. Alien plant invasion in riparian zones 26 V. Modification and management of riparian plant communities 30 VI. Conclusions and future research 32Acknowledgements 33References 33