Abstract
Wetland ecosystems are vulnerable to plant species invasions, which can greatly alter species composition and ecosystem functioning. The response of these communities to restoration can vary following invader removal, but few studies have evaluated how recent and long-term invasions can affect the plant community’s restoration potential. Perennial pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium) has invaded thousands of hectares of marshland in the San Francisco Estuary, California, United States of America, while the effects of invasion and removal of this weed remain poorly studied. In this study, perennial pepperweed was removed along a gradient of invasion age in brackish tidal marshes of Suisun Marsh, within the Estuary. In removal plots, resident plant cover significantly increased during the 2-year study period, particularly in the densest and oldest parts of the perennial pepperweed colonies, while species richness did not change significantly. In bare areas created by removal of perennial pepperweed, recolonization was dominated by three-square bulrush (Schoenoplectus americanus). Ultimately, removal of invasive perennial pepperweed led to reinvasion of the resident plant community within two years. This study illustrates that it is important to consider invasion age, along with exotic species removal, when developing a restoration strategy in wetland ecosystems.
Highlights
Exotic species invasions are considered the second leading cause of worldwide biodiversity loss after habitat destruction [1], especially in wetland ecosystems [2,3]
Plant species composition may become so different from the pre-invasion composition that even complete removal of the invader does not guarantee a return of the original community [7]
We tested the hypotheses that there would be significant increases in wetland plant species abundance and richness following removal of perennial pepperweed and that the response to the removal would vary among species and position along a gradient of increasing perennial pepperweed density, which was correlated to invasion age
Summary
Exotic species invasions are considered the second leading cause of worldwide biodiversity loss after habitat destruction [1], especially in wetland ecosystems [2,3]. These invasions can change community dynamics by altering patterns of species assembly and nutrient cycling [4,5,6]. Altered plant communities may reach new stable states and become resistant to restoration [7]. Plant species composition may become so different from the pre-invasion composition that even complete removal of the invader does not guarantee a return of the original community [7]. This, in turn, can affect ecosystem functioning and the potential for restoration
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