Disturbance is the key to plant invasions in cold environments

This work provides a complete experimental answer to the longstanding question of which local factors determine the success (i.e., establishment, growth, and flowering) of common nonnative plant invaders at their coldest physiological limits. Using a multifactorial seed-addition experiment along rep...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Main Authors: Lembrechts, Jonas J., Pauchard, Aníbal, Lenoir, Jonathan, Nuñez, Martín A., Geron, Charly, Ven, Arne, Bravo-Monasterio, Pablo, Teneb, Ernesto, Nijs, Ivan, Milbau, Ann
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: National Academy of Sciences 2016
Subjects:
Biological Sciences
Arctic
Climate change
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5150417/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27872292
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1608980113
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Summary:This work provides a complete experimental answer to the longstanding question of which local factors determine the success (i.e., establishment, growth, and flowering) of common nonnative plant invaders at their coldest physiological limits. Using a multifactorial seed-addition experiment along repeated elevational gradients in two sub(ant)arctic mountain regions, we pinpoint the relative contribution of all main candidate determinants: temperature, disturbance, nutrient addition, and propagule pressure. We warn that climate change and direct human disturbances will together result in increased plant invasion in cold-climate ecosystems in the near future.

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