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Plant Diversity ›› 2022, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (05): 499-504.DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2021.12.004

• Research paper • 上一篇    下一篇

Plant invasions facilitated by suppression of root nutrient acquisition rather than by disruption of mycorrhizal association in the native plant

Jing Chena, Hai-Yan Zhangb, Ming-Chao Liub, Mei-Xu Hana, De-Liang Konga   

  1. a. College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China;
    b. Liaoning Key Laboratory for Biological Invasions and Global Changes, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110866, China
  • 收稿日期:2021-09-29 修回日期:2021-12-09 出版日期:2022-09-25 发布日期:2022-10-14
  • 通讯作者: De-Liang Kong,E-mail:deliangkong@henau.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    We are grateful for Miss.Xiaocheng Guo,Xinyu Lu and Jinqi Tang for their assistance in field work and lab analysis.We also thank the editor office for assistance in polishing this manuscript patiently.This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31870522,32171746 and 32171662) and the Scientific Research Foundation of Henan Agricultural University (30500854),Research Funds for overseas returnee in Henan Province,China.

Plant invasions facilitated by suppression of root nutrient acquisition rather than by disruption of mycorrhizal association in the native plant

Jing Chena, Hai-Yan Zhangb, Ming-Chao Liub, Mei-Xu Hana, De-Liang Konga   

  1. a. College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China;
    b. Liaoning Key Laboratory for Biological Invasions and Global Changes, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110866, China
  • Received:2021-09-29 Revised:2021-12-09 Online:2022-09-25 Published:2022-10-14
  • Supported by:
    We are grateful for Miss.Xiaocheng Guo,Xinyu Lu and Jinqi Tang for their assistance in field work and lab analysis.We also thank the editor office for assistance in polishing this manuscript patiently.This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31870522,32171746 and 32171662) and the Scientific Research Foundation of Henan Agricultural University (30500854),Research Funds for overseas returnee in Henan Province,China.

摘要: Invasive species have profound negative impacts on native ranges. Unraveling the mechanisms employed by invasive plant species is crucial to controlling invasions. One important approach that invasive plants use to outcompete native plants is to disrupt mutualistic interactions between native roots and mycorrhizal fungi. However, it remains unclear how differences in the competitive ability of invasive plants affect native plant associations with mycorrhizae. Here, we examined how a native plant, Xanthium strumarium, responds to invasive plants that differed in competitive abilities (i.e., as represented by aboveground plant biomass) by measuring changes in root nitrogen concentration (root nutrient acquisition) and mycorrhizal colonization rate. We found that both root nitrogen concentration and mycorrhizal colonization rate in the native plant were reduced by invasive plants. The change in mycorrhizal colonization rate of the native plant was negatively correlated with both aboveground plant biomass of the invasive plants and the change in aboveground plant biomass of the native plant in monocultures relative to mixed plantings. In contrast, the change in root nitrogen concentration of the native plant was positively correlated with aboveground plant biomass of the invasive plants and the change in aboveground plant biomass of the native plant. When we compared the changes in mycorrhizal colonization rate and root nitrogen concentration in the native plant grown in monocultures with those of native plants grown with invasive plants, we observed a significant tradeoff. Our study shows that invasive plants can suppress native plants by reducing root nutrient acquisition rather than by disrupting symbiotic mycorrhizal associations, a novel finding likely attributable to a low dependence of the native plant on mycorrhizal fungi.

关键词: Plant invasion, Root strategy, Mycorrhizal strategy, Tradeoff

Abstract: Invasive species have profound negative impacts on native ranges. Unraveling the mechanisms employed by invasive plant species is crucial to controlling invasions. One important approach that invasive plants use to outcompete native plants is to disrupt mutualistic interactions between native roots and mycorrhizal fungi. However, it remains unclear how differences in the competitive ability of invasive plants affect native plant associations with mycorrhizae. Here, we examined how a native plant, Xanthium strumarium, responds to invasive plants that differed in competitive abilities (i.e., as represented by aboveground plant biomass) by measuring changes in root nitrogen concentration (root nutrient acquisition) and mycorrhizal colonization rate. We found that both root nitrogen concentration and mycorrhizal colonization rate in the native plant were reduced by invasive plants. The change in mycorrhizal colonization rate of the native plant was negatively correlated with both aboveground plant biomass of the invasive plants and the change in aboveground plant biomass of the native plant in monocultures relative to mixed plantings. In contrast, the change in root nitrogen concentration of the native plant was positively correlated with aboveground plant biomass of the invasive plants and the change in aboveground plant biomass of the native plant. When we compared the changes in mycorrhizal colonization rate and root nitrogen concentration in the native plant grown in monocultures with those of native plants grown with invasive plants, we observed a significant tradeoff. Our study shows that invasive plants can suppress native plants by reducing root nutrient acquisition rather than by disrupting symbiotic mycorrhizal associations, a novel finding likely attributable to a low dependence of the native plant on mycorrhizal fungi.

Key words: Plant invasion, Root strategy, Mycorrhizal strategy, Tradeoff