Comparative performance of invasive alien Eichhornia crassipes and native Ludwigia stolonifera under non-limiting nutrient conditions in Lake Naivasha, Kenya

Abstract

The ability of Ludwigia stolonifera to thrive in the presence of Eichhornia crassipes was investigated in Lake Naivasha, Kenya. L. stolonifera (indigenous) and E. crassipes (invasive alien) were grown in outdoor experimental boxes in monocultures and mixtures under non-limiting nutrient conditions. An additive series design with eight combinations of planting densities and four replicates was used. Competitive interactions between the two species were determined by assessing the final total biomass and above–below-ground biomass allocation after 98 days of growth. Biomass accumulation and allocation were significantly affected by competition in relation to species, with L. stolonifera accumulating more biomass than E. crassipes. ANOVA analysis indicated that there was no significant difference in Relative Growth Rate (RGR) and root/shoot ratio between monocultures and mixtures with E. crassipes. However, significant differences in RGRs were observed between monocultures and mixtures of L. stolonifera. Multiple regressions on species RGRs revealed that increasing initial biomass of a con-specific neighbour resulted to a greater reduction in species RGR in relation to increasing initial biomass of a hetero-specific neighbour. Thus, a stronger intra- than inter-specific competition coupled with the significantly higher RGR of L. stolonifera relative to that of E. crassipes enabled L. stolonifera to outperform E. crassipes.