Abstract
BackgroundAllelopathy has been suggested as one potential mechanism facilitating the successful colonisation and expansion of invasive plants. The impacts of the ongoing elevation in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) on the production of allelochemicals by invasive species are of great importance because they play a potential role in promoting biological invasion at the global scale. Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia var. elatior), one of the most notorious invasive exotic plant species, was used to assess changes in foliar mono- and sesquiterpene production in response to CO2 elevation (389.12 ± 2.55 vs. 802.08 ± 2.69 ppm).ResultsThe plant growth of common ragweed significantly increased in elevated CO2. The major monoterpenes in the essential oil extracted from common ragweed leaves were β-myrcene, dl-limonene and 1,3,6-octatriene, and the major sesquiterpenes were β-caryophyllene and germacrene-D. The concentrations of 1,3,6-octatriene (258%) and β-caryophyllene (421%) significantly increased with CO2 elevation.ConclusionsThese findings improve our understanding of how allelochemicals in common ragweed respond to CO2 elevation.
Highlights
Allelopathy has been suggested as one potential mechanism facilitating the successful colonisation and expansion of invasive plants
The allelopathic effect of plant terpenoids is of great ecological interest as many plant species enhance their competitiveness and fitness through allelopathy
The Novel Weapon hypothesis proposed by Callaway and Ridenour (2004) attributes the successful establishment and proliferation of some invasive exotic plants in introduced ranges to their allelochemicals (Callaway and Ridenour 2004)
Summary
Allelopathy has been suggested as one potential mechanism facilitating the successful colonisation and expansion of invasive plants. The Novel Weapon hypothesis proposed by Callaway and Ridenour (2004) attributes the successful establishment and proliferation of some invasive exotic plants in introduced ranges to their allelochemicals (Callaway and Ridenour 2004) These chemicals are relatively ineffective against neighbours in the native range of the invasive species due to co-evolved tolerance, these substances can act as ‘novel weapons’ when encountered by adjacent plant species in invaded ranges (Callaway and Aschehoug 2000; Callaway and Ridenour 2004). Allelopathic effects of invasive plant terpenoids on the germination and growth of native and crop species in invaded ranges have been observed in numerous cases, demonstrating that allelopathy plays a potential role in the success of some invasive exotic plants (Barney et al 2005; Bae et al Journal of Ecology and Environment (2019) 43:21
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