COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND FOREST INVASION BY AN EXOTIC HERB OVER 23 YEARS

Autor: Robert B. Allen, Kevin H. Platt, Peter W. Clinton, Susan K. Wiser
Rok vydání: 1998
Předmět:
Zdroj: Ecology. 79:2071-2081
ISSN: 0012-9658
DOI: 10.1890/0012-9658(1998)079[2071:csafib]2.0.co;2
Popis: We studied the invasion of a New Zealand mountain beech (Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides) forest by the exotic perennial herb, Hieracium lepidulum. We used data from 250 randomly located permanent plots (400 m2) established in 1970 that sampled 9000 ha of forest. Frequency of H. lepidulum was 11%, 43%, and 57% in 1970, 1985, and 1993, respectively. For each year of measurement, invasion patterns were related to (a) distance to the forest margin as a measure of dispersal limitation, (b) community structure, (c) stem biomass dynamics indicating disturbance history, and (d) environmental characteristics. In 1970, invaded plots had more species and lower potential solar radiation, and they were closer to the forest margin; however, invaded plots were only weakly predicted by these site variables. H. lepidulum also invaded relatively species-rich subplots (0.75 m2) showing that community structure was also significant at a microsite scale. Using the same sets of variables, the ability to predict which ...
Databáze: OpenAIRE