Good news for habitat restoration projects: Eucalyptus does not inhibit the germination of Polylepis

Abstract

Eucalyptus plantations outside their native range—either as an income source or aimed at sequestering atmospheric carbon to combat climate change—are increasingly known to reduce local biodiversity and groundwater levels, and to increase soil degradation and erosion. One additional but less understood effect of Eucalyptus on native floras is allelopathy—the chemical inhibition of other plants' germination. Here we investigate the putative allelopathic effects of Eucalyptus globulus on the germination of Polylepis subtusalbida, a keystone species that characterizes a species‐rich and highly threatened woodland habitat in the Bolivian Andes. We carry out controlled greenhouse experiments reflecting local rainfall, field litter quantity, and Eucalyptus leachate concentrations at multiple levels. Our results, based on five replicates with 390 Polylepis seeds each, show that contrary to our expectation Eucalyptus leachates does not affect germination significantly. Our findings suggest that projects aiming to remove Eucalyptus to restore Polylepis woodlands are likely to succeed even without the resource‐consuming removal of leaf litter, and potentially also bark and roots, from the ground after tree felling.