Invasive Alien Vines Affect Leaf Traits of Riparian Woody Vegetation

Abstract

The vines Echinocystis lobata and Parthenocissus quinquefolia are spreading over the natural vegetation in riparian zones, which may significantly affect riparian vegetation properties and the quality of litter for aquatic organisms. We examined leaf morphological, biochemical and optical traits of these invasive alien species, each paired with its host, the willows Salix caprea and S. fragilis, respectively. The vines altered the host radiation environment and the amount of photosynthetic pigments. Both vines had significantly higher specific leaf area and lower leaf tissue density compared to the willows, even though the leaves of P. quinquefolia were significantly thicker. Leaf optical properties varied significantly between vines and willows in some spectral regions. Compared to the willows, the vines reflected less light as UV, and more as green, and transmitted more light as green, yellow and red. The overgrowth of the willows with vines affected the reflectance of the willow leaves. Redundancy analysis of the relationships between leaf biochemical traits and reflectance spectra showed that chlorophyll a, anthocyanins, and UVB- and UVA-absorbing substances explained 45% of the reflectance spectra variability, while analysis with morphological traits revealed that specific leaf area, leaf thickness and upper cuticle thickness explained 43%. For leaf transmittance, UVB- and UVA-absorbing substances, carotenoids and anthocyanins explained 53% of the transmittance spectra variability, while analysis with morphological traits revealed that specific leaf area explained 51%. These data show that invasive alien vines can be discerned from each other and their hosts by their spectral signatures. In addition, the differences in the leaf functional traits between the vines and their hosts indicate significant differences in the quality of the plant litter entering the river.