Non-native populations of an invasive tree outperform their native conspecifics. (18th August 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hirsch, Heidi; Hensen, Isabell; Wesche, Karsten; Renison, Daniel; Wypior, Catherina; Hartmann, Matthias; von Wehrden, Henrik
• Is Part Of: AoB plants. Volume 8(2016)
• Publication Date: 2015-08-18
• Subjects: Biomass -- genetic shift -- greenhouse -- post-germination traits -- shoot-root ratio -- Ulmus pumila; Plants -- Periodicals; Botany -- Periodicals; 580.5
• DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plw071
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2041-2851

Abstract

Abstract : We compared the seedling growth performance of native and non-native Siberian elm populations in a common greenhouse experiment to gain knowledge about possible changes in life history traits in populations of non-native woody species. Our results showed that non-native Siberian elm populations are characterized by an enhanced early life cycle performance which likely contributes to its invasion success. This study contributes to a better understanding of the still little-known invasion processes of woody non-native species. Abstract: Introduced plants often face new environmental conditions in their non-native ranges. To become invasive, they need to overcome several biotic and abiotic filters that may trigger adaptive changes in life-history traits, like post-germination processes. Such early life cycle traits may play a crucial role in the colonization and establishment success of invasive plants. As a previous study revealed that seeds of non-native populations of the woody Siberian elm, Ulmus pumila, germinated faster than those of native populations, we expected growth performance of seedlings to mirror this finding. Here, we conducted a common garden greenhouse experiment using different temperature and watering treatments to compare the biomass production of U. pumila seedlings derived from 7 native and 13 populations from two non-native ranges. Our results showed that under all treatments, non-native populations were characterized by higher biomass production and enhanced resource allocation to aboveground biomass compared to the native populations. The observed enhanced growth performance of non-native populations might be one of the contributing factors for the invasion success of U. pumila due to competitive advantages during the colonization of new sites.