Non-native populations of an invasive tree outperform their native conspecifics

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 postgermination 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.Fil: Hirsch, Heidi. Stellenbosch University, Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology; Sudáfrica. Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden ; AlemaniaFil: Hensen, Isabell. Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden ; Alemania. German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig; AlemaniaFil: Wesche, Karsten. German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig; Alemania. Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Goerlitz; AlemaniaFil: Renison, Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Wypior, Catherina. Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden ; AlemaniaFil: Hartmann, Matthias. Charles University in Prague, Herbarium PRC & Department of Botany; República ChecaFil: von Wehrden, Henrik. Leuphana University, Institute of Ecology/Faculty of Sustainability, Centre of Methods; Alemania. Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology; Austri