Flooding compromises compensatory capacity of an invasive plant: implications for biological control

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Plant compensatory growth is proposed to be insidious to biological control and known to vary under different environmental conditions. However, the effects of microsite conditions on compensation capacity and its indirect impacts on biological control of plant invaders have received little attention. Alligator weed, Alternanthera phioxeroides, is an invasive plant worldwide, growing in both aquatic and terrestrial habitats that are often affected by flooding. Biological control insects have been successful in suppressing the plant in many aquatic habitats but have failed in terrestrial habitats. To evaluate the impact of flooding on compensation capacity, we conducted common garden and greenhouse experiments in which plants were grown under different moisture conditions (aquatic versus terrestrial). Our results show that plants were able to fully recover from continued herbivory in the terrestrial habitat, but failed in the aquatic habitat, indicating a flooding-regulated plant compensatory capacity. Also, the grazed plants increased below-ground growth and reproductive root bud formation in the terrestrial habitat, but there was no such difference in the aquatic habitat. Our findings suggest that the differing plant compensatory capacity, affected by flooding, may explain the different biological control efficacy of alligator weed in aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Understanding mechanisms in plant invader compensation in different microsite conditions is important for improving management efficiency.