Effect of a native tree on seedling establishment of two exotic invasive species in a semiarid ecosystem

Abstract

Theory predicts that in more stressful environments, positive plant-plant interactions should be more important than negative ones. For instance, in arid and semiarid regions, amelioration of soil drought produced by the shade of established plants could facilitate establishment of other species, in spite of light reduction. However, this theory has not been tested widely in the context of plant invasion. In this paper we evaluated the hypothesis that in a semiarid ecosystem of central Chile, the native tree, Lithrea caustica, should facilitate through positive shading effects, the seedling establishment of two widely planted and invasive forestry species, Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus globulus. We assessed the seedling establishment examining two processes: seedling recruitment (including germination) and subsequent seedling survival. We sowed seeds (to assess recruitment) and planted 8 months old seedlings (to assess seedling survival) of each exotic species under Lithrea patches, open sites and under an artificial shade mimicking Lithrea shading. The study was repeated in a north-facing and a south-facing slope in the study area located in a xeric zone within the distribution range of plantations of these species in central Chile. Our results show that in a north-facing slope Lithrea had positive effects on recruitment of both species, which was produced by shading. These effects were counteracted by negative effects on seedling survival but through a different mechanism, which suggests that Lithrea would have no significant effect on the whole seedling establishment process of Pinus radiata nor Eucalyptus globulus in this habitat. In turn, in a south-facing slope Lithrea had no significant effect on recruitment but had a negative effect on seedling survival, which was not produced by shading. This suggests that in this habitat Lithrea has a negative effect on the seedling establishment of these exotic species. Our results suggest that the effect of the native Lithrea caustica on the seedling establishment of these exotic species is dependent upon the life-cycle phase (recruitment or seedling survival) and habitat even within the same semiarid ecosystem. In contrast to the expected positive effects Lithrea is unlikely to facilitate seedling establishment of these exotic species in this area, and in fact in some habitats this effect could be negative. However, our results also suggest that a common mechanism proposed to resist invasion in forest ecosystems such as shading, probably is not sufficient to inhibit invasion in a semiarid region.