Invasion Success of Bunias orientalis (Warty Cabbage) in Grasslands: A Mesocosm Experiment on the Role of Hydrological Stress and Disturbance

Climate change is altering precipitation patterns, with higher frequency and magnitude of extreme events. Specifically, longer and more pronounced waterlogged conditions are predicted after rain spells as well as more frequent droughts, especially in Central Europe. Such hydrological changes can sev...

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Main Authors: Anna Corli, Julia Walter, Christine S. Sheppard
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.625587/full
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spelling doaj-f9d92a103c1342e38ecbe132ac01d6122021-03-18T05:28:39ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2021-03-01910.3389/fevo.2021.625587625587Invasion Success of Bunias orientalis (Warty Cabbage) in Grasslands: A Mesocosm Experiment on the Role of Hydrological Stress and DisturbanceAnna Corli0Julia Walter1Christine S. Sheppard2Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, ItalyLandwirtschaftliches Technologiezentrum Augustenberg, Pflanzenproduktion, Rheinstetten, GermanyInstitute of Landscape and Plant Ecology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, GermanyClimate change is altering precipitation patterns, with higher frequency and magnitude of extreme events. Specifically, longer and more pronounced waterlogged conditions are predicted after rain spells as well as more frequent droughts, especially in Central Europe. Such hydrological changes can severely affect species performance and alter the function of ecosystems, as well as favor plant invasions. Competition with native communities may change depending on water stress. Bunias orientalis is an invasive plant that may benefit from disturbance or precipitation changes. We conducted a 3-year mesocosm experiment in a common garden to investigate how invasion success of B. orientalis in native German grassland communities is affected by varying hydrological conditions (from very dry to waterlogged). We measured the establishment and growth of B. orientalis in varying water table depths in bare soil (simulating disturbance) vs. in the community. Establishment and biomass of B. orientalis was generally highest under non-stress conditions. The species was also highly tolerant to dry conditions, but only when growing in bare soil. However, performance of B. orientalis was generally low, whereby interspecific competition in communities greatly limited invasion success. This might be due to the low competitive ability of the species in conditions of hydrological stress and the near-natural grassland communities with an extensive mowing regime used in our experiment. Our results suggest that invasion success of B. orientalis in grasslands will not increase if precipitation patterns change toward more extreme events. However, disturbance that creates bare soil patches might favor B. orientalis under drought conditions.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.625587/fullBunias orientaliscommon garden experimentgrasslandhydrological gradientinterspecific competitionplant invasion
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Anna Corli
Julia Walter
Christine S. Sheppard
spellingShingle Anna Corli
Julia Walter
Christine S. Sheppard
Invasion Success of Bunias orientalis (Warty Cabbage) in Grasslands: A Mesocosm Experiment on the Role of Hydrological Stress and Disturbance
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Bunias orientalis
common garden experiment
grassland
hydrological gradient
interspecific competition
plant invasion
author_facet Anna Corli
Julia Walter
Christine S. Sheppard
author_sort Anna Corli
title Invasion Success of Bunias orientalis (Warty Cabbage) in Grasslands: A Mesocosm Experiment on the Role of Hydrological Stress and Disturbance
title_short Invasion Success of Bunias orientalis (Warty Cabbage) in Grasslands: A Mesocosm Experiment on the Role of Hydrological Stress and Disturbance
title_full Invasion Success of Bunias orientalis (Warty Cabbage) in Grasslands: A Mesocosm Experiment on the Role of Hydrological Stress and Disturbance
title_fullStr Invasion Success of Bunias orientalis (Warty Cabbage) in Grasslands: A Mesocosm Experiment on the Role of Hydrological Stress and Disturbance
title_full_unstemmed Invasion Success of Bunias orientalis (Warty Cabbage) in Grasslands: A Mesocosm Experiment on the Role of Hydrological Stress and Disturbance
title_sort invasion success of bunias orientalis (warty cabbage) in grasslands: a mesocosm experiment on the role of hydrological stress and disturbance
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
issn 2296-701X
publishDate 2021-03-01
description Climate change is altering precipitation patterns, with higher frequency and magnitude of extreme events. Specifically, longer and more pronounced waterlogged conditions are predicted after rain spells as well as more frequent droughts, especially in Central Europe. Such hydrological changes can severely affect species performance and alter the function of ecosystems, as well as favor plant invasions. Competition with native communities may change depending on water stress. Bunias orientalis is an invasive plant that may benefit from disturbance or precipitation changes. We conducted a 3-year mesocosm experiment in a common garden to investigate how invasion success of B. orientalis in native German grassland communities is affected by varying hydrological conditions (from very dry to waterlogged). We measured the establishment and growth of B. orientalis in varying water table depths in bare soil (simulating disturbance) vs. in the community. Establishment and biomass of B. orientalis was generally highest under non-stress conditions. The species was also highly tolerant to dry conditions, but only when growing in bare soil. However, performance of B. orientalis was generally low, whereby interspecific competition in communities greatly limited invasion success. This might be due to the low competitive ability of the species in conditions of hydrological stress and the near-natural grassland communities with an extensive mowing regime used in our experiment. Our results suggest that invasion success of B. orientalis in grasslands will not increase if precipitation patterns change toward more extreme events. However, disturbance that creates bare soil patches might favor B. orientalis under drought conditions.
topic Bunias orientalis
common garden experiment
grassland
hydrological gradient
interspecific competition
plant invasion
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.625587/full
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