Vegetative propagation of Solidago canadensis – do fragment size and burial depth matter?

L Rosef,H H Ingebrigtsen,E Heegaard,Guillaume Fried

doi:10.1111/wre.12395

L Rosef, H H Ingebrigtsen + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1111/wre.12395

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Abstract

SummaryClonal species may benefit from human disturbance because their vegetative fragments may be distributed via soil. Solidago canadensis is an invasive rhizomatous perennial frequently found in ruderal environments. When creating new infrastructure, digging and cutting are two main factors that may influence the spread of S. canadensis into new areas. To have a better understanding of the invasive potential of S. canadensis, we investigated whether S. canadensis was able to survive and grow from stem cuttings as well as from rhizomes. Rhizomes and cuttings were collected from three populations in Eastern Norway. The rhizomes and cuttings were planted in a pot experiment to assess their vegetative ability to propagate. Rhizome fragments (5 and 10 cm long) were buried at 0.5, 10 and 30 cm depths. The cuttings were planted as 15 cm stems, with the bottom 5 cm pushed into the soil. The results showed that rhizome length did not have an effect on survival. Although some sprouting occurred at all burial depths, increasing depth had a negative effect on rhizome survival. In general, development of the cuttings was good, but there were differences between population performance and survival. These results imply that care must be taken when (i) constructing new sites, because digging and transport of soil masses may spread S. canadensis into new areas by rhizomes or cuttings, and (ii) mowing road verges and other ruderal areas to prevent the spread of stem cuttings from one area to another.

Highlights

Areas invaded by alien species are often ruderal habitats, characterised by high levels of human disturbance, such as cutting, digging and relocation of soil masses from infrastructure and expansion areas (Parendes & Jones, 2000)
To obtain a greater understanding of the invasive potential of S. canadensis, we investigated population variation in rhizome and stem cutting establishment under contrasting burial regimes that mimicked disturbance conditions during construction work
Plant material from each population was collected on a single day (17, 18 and 19 June 2015), where five root clumps were removed from visually healthy plants that had large numbers of stems, and individual rhizomes were cut into 5 and 10 cm long pieces of approximately the same thickness

Summary

Introduction

Areas invaded by alien species are often ruderal habitats, characterised by high levels of human disturbance, such as cutting, digging and relocation of soil masses from infrastructure and expansion areas (Parendes & Jones, 2000). Disturbance affects plants and may lead to the development of various sizes of fragments of roots and shoots. Clonal species may benefit from such disturbance, depending on burial depth, fragment size and sprouting ability (Li et al., 2013). Fragments of plant species buried in soils at construction and waste dumping sites facilitate greater spread of invasive species into native habitats and gene flow between populations (e.g. Keller et al, 2011). Many invasive alien plants are spread by clonal fragments. Baker (1974) identified the ability to form clones and vegetative propagation combined with strong lateral growth as common traits among alien Many invasive alien plants are spread by clonal fragments. Baker (1974) identified the ability to form clones and vegetative propagation combined with strong lateral growth as common traits among alien

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