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- Title
Effect of Carpobrotus edulis invasion history on plant communities.
- Authors
SAVAGE, CLAIRE; SAVAGE, KELLY; KELLER, KANE R.
- Abstract
Invasive species can cause drastic changes to plant communities. In many cases, removal of invasive species fails to reverse these changes, perhaps due to side effects of removal strategies, changes that co-occurred with invasion, or legacy effects. Carpobrotus edulis is a notorious invasive species in Mediterranean-type climates around the world that alters plant communities and may generate legacy effects. We investigate the impact of C. edulis invasion, removal, and potential legacy effects on coastal plant communities. We assessed community composition, species richness, diversity, and native and exotic species cover at 5 sites differing in C. edulis invasion and removal history. Community composition differed at all sites; however, the uninvaded and oldest removal sites were most similar, indicating that the previous C. edulis invasion did not influence longer-term community trajectory. Species richness and diversity were lowest at the invaded and recent removal sites but recovered to higher levels similar to the uninvaded site at the middle and oldest removal sites. Native cover was higher at removal sites than at the invaded site. Exotic species cover was highest at the invaded site but was not statistically significantly different between the invaded, oldest removal, and uninvaded sites. However, the invaded site was dominated by C. edulis, while the other sites were dominated by exotic grasses. These results suggest that C. edulis invasion reduces species richness and diversity while it is present and for a short time after it is removed, but that these effects are transient dynamics that likely do not generate soil legacy effects that alter community trajectory. However, at sites where C. edulis is absent or removed, other invasive species may dominate.
- Subjects
PLANT communities; PLANT invasions; MEDITERRANEAN climate; TRANSIENTS (Dynamics); LOCAL history; SPECIES diversity
- Publication
Western North American Naturalist, 2023, Vol 83, Issue 4, p484
- ISSN
1527-0904
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3398/064.083.0406