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...
Published in: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
National Academy of Sciences
2016
|
Subjects: | |
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 |
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. |
---|