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Abstract
Riparian forests exhibit levels of ecological disturbance that leave them especially prone to biological invasions. Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is particularly suited to these habitats and is an aggressive invader along watercourses throughout its now-global range as an exotic invader. Using one of the few Silver Maple Floodplain Forest communities that has not been invaded by F. japonica in the West Branch Susquehanna River valley (Pennsylvania, USA) as a baseline, this study examines whether and how this primarily intact riparian forest community differs from nearby invaded communities in terms of 1) native species richness, 2) native species density, and 3) riparian forest tree recruitment. Defining a baseline (intact) community composition will inform restoration plans for local riparian forests where knotweed might be eradicated or reduced. Invaded and non-invaded sites differed statistically across species richness, species density, and tree recruitment. Our results suggest that F. japonica has reduced the diversity and abundance of native understory riparian plant species. The species also appears to have suppressed long-term tree recruitment, setting up a trajectory whereby the eventual decline of trees currently in the canopy could shift this community from a tree-dominated riparian forest to a knotweed-dominated herbaceous shrubland.
Highlights
Invasive species are known to cause community level effects that include reductions in richness, density, and recruitment of native flora and fauna
The local riparian habitat supports a plant community meeting the definition of a Silver Maple Floodplain Forest (Fike 1999, Zimmerman 2011) with an overstory consisting of Acer saccharinum L. as a dominant component typically accompanied by Betula nigra L., Platanus occidentalis L., and Acer negundo L
Our results showed significantly lower native plant density, species diversity, and tree recruitment in the presence of F. japonica
Summary
Invasive species are known to cause community level effects that include reductions in richness, density, and recruitment of native flora and fauna. This can be especially true for habitats in which dynamism and disturbance, characteristics invasive taxa are often adapted to, are natural elements of ecological cycles The ecological services provided by riparian habitats are strongly linked to the vegetation present, with the effects of invasive species on native plant communities of particular concern (Herrera and Dudley 2003, Hood and Naiman 2000). Considerable generation of stem litter after each growing season (Topp et al 2007, Urgenson et al 2009), release of allelopathic compounds (Murrell et al 2010, Pysek et al 2011), impacts on soil microbes (Siemens and Blossey 2007), and homogenization of soil nutrient profiles (Dassonville et al 2007) may act as barriers to germination that reduce recruitment of native plants
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