Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/10261/54869
Share/Export:
SHARE CORE BASE | |
Visualizar otros formatos: MARC | Dublin Core | RDF | ORE | MODS | METS | DIDL | DATACITE | |
Title: | Consistent performance of invasive plant species within and among islands of the Mediterranean basin |
Authors: | Traveset, Anna CSIC ORCID ; Brundu, Giuseppe; Carta, Luisa; Mprezetou, Irene; Lambdon, Philip; Manca, Manuela; Médail, Frédéric; Moragues, Eva; Rodríguez-Pérez, Javier CSIC ORCID; Vilà, Montserrat CSIC ORCID | Keywords: | Alien plants Ailanthus altissima Carpobrotus spp. Habitat variation Mediterranean ecosystems Oxalis pes-caprae |
Issue Date: | 2008 | Publisher: | Springer Nature | Citation: | Biological Invasions, 10:847–858 (2008) | Abstract: | Since the success of an invasive species depends not only upon its intrinsic traits but also on particular characteristics of the recipient habitat, assessing the performance of an invader across habitats provides a more realistic analysis of risk. Such an analysis will not only provide insights into the traits related to invasiveness, but also the habitat character- istics that underpin vulnerability to invasion that, taken together, will facilitate the selection of management strategies to mitigate the invader’s effect. In the present study, we considered the Mediterranean basin islands as an excellent study region to test how the same invasive species perform in different habitats within a single island, and to scale up differences among islands with similar climate. We tested how the performance of three widespread plant invaders with clonal growth but contrasting life-history traits, a deciduous tree Ailanthus altissima, a succulent subshrub Carpobrotus spp., and an annual geophyte Oxalis pes-caprae, varied depending upon the species identity, habitat, and invaded island. The environmental parameters consid- ered were habitat type, elevation, species diversity in the invaded plot, and several soil traits (% C, % N, C/N, pH, and relative humidity). The study documents that the performance of these three important and wide- spread plant invaders is dependent mainly on species identity, and less upon the invaded island’s general features. Likewise, differences in performance among habitats were only significant in the case of Ailanthus, whereas Carpobrotus and Oxalis appear to perform equally well in different environments. Ailanthus thus appears to have a broader spectrum of invasiveness, being able to invade a larger number of habitat types. On the contrary, Carpobrotus spp. have not yet invaded habitats different from those where the species have been originally introduced and where they are still commonly spread by humans. Oxalis distribution is mainly related to agricultural activities and disturbed sites, and the total area infested by this geophyte may be more reflection of the extent of suitable habitats than of invasiveness or ecological impact. Our results confirm the potential for these species to significantly alter the functioning of ecosystems in the Mediterranean islands and highlight the risk to other islands not yet invaded | Publisher version (URL): | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10530-008-9245-y | URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/54869 | DOI: | 10.1007/s10530-008-9245-y |
Appears in Collections: | (EBD) Artículos (IMEDEA) Artículos |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
---|---|---|---|---|
travesetetal_2008.doc | 905,5 kB | Microsoft Word | View/Open |
CORE Recommender
SCOPUSTM
Citations
59
checked on Apr 29, 2024
WEB OF SCIENCETM
Citations
54
checked on Feb 26, 2024
Page view(s)
392
checked on Apr 30, 2024
Download(s)
356
checked on Apr 30, 2024
Google ScholarTM
Check
Altmetric
Altmetric
WARNING: Items in Digital.CSIC are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.