Abstract
Invasive plants are recognized for their impressive abilities to withstand adverse environmental conditions however, all invaders do not express the similar abilities. Therefore, survival, growth, nutrient uptake and fecundity of two co-occurring, invasive Physalis species were tested under water and salinity stresses, and different soil textures in the current study. Five different water stress levels (100, 75, 50, 25, and 12.5% pot water contents), four different soil salinity levels (0, 3, 6, and 12 dSm-1) and four different soil textures (67% clay, 50% clay, silt clay loam and sandy loam) were included in three different pot experiments. Both weeds survived under all levels of water stress except 12.5% water contents and on all soil types however, behaved differently under increasing salinity. The weeds responded similarly to salinity up till 3 dSm-1 whereas, P. philadelphica survived for longer time than P. angulata under remaining salinity regimes. Water and salinity stress hampered the growth and fecundity of both weeds while, soil textures had slight effect. Both weeds preferred clay textured soils for better growth and nutrient uptake however, interactive effect of weeds and soil textures was non-significant. P. angulata accumulated higher K and Na while P. philadelphica accrued more Ca and Mg as well as maintained better K/Na ratio. P. angulata accumulated more Na and P under salinity stress while, P. philadelphica accrued higher K and Mg, and maintained higher K/Na ratio. Collectively, highest nutrient accumulation was observed under stress free conditions and on clay textured soils. P. philadelphica exhibited higher reproductive output under all experimental conditions than P. angulata. It is predicted that P. philadelphica will be more problematic under optimal water supply and high salinity while P. angulata can better adapt water limited environments. The results indicate that both weeds have considerable potential to further expand their ranges in semi-arid regions of Turkey.
Highlights
Invasive plants pose significant threats to native biodiversity, human and animal health, agricultural production and disrupt ecosystem services throughout the world [1]
P. philadelphica survived for longer period compared to P. angulata under severe water stress (Table 2)
Mortality was observed for some seedlings of P. angulata (25% mortality) under severe stress whereas, all seedlings of P. philadelphica were able to survive under all levels of water stress (Fig 1)
Summary
Invasive plants pose significant threats to native biodiversity, human and animal health, agricultural production and disrupt ecosystem services throughout the world [1]. The higher tolerance, survival and growth of invasive plants under moisture deficiency, high soil salinity, and shade along with continuous disturbances enable them to successfully survive and spread in introduced ranges [2, 3, 4]. Water is the crucial driver of ecosystem services, and its deficiency will alter nutrient cycles resulting in decreased nutrient uptake due to low available moisture in the soil [13, 14]. The agricultural practices such as irrigation, to cope with water deficiency have been increasing soil salinity [15, 16] in arid and semi-arid regions
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