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Leaf litter and understory canopy shade limit the establishment, growth and reproduction of Microstegium vimineum

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Abstract

The invasive grass Microstegium vimineum is widely distributed in closed-canopy forests, but often is patchily distributed under uniform canopy conditions. We hypothesized that the occurrence of patches of invasion may be related to two interacting factors, the presence of dense understory shrub layers and the presence of thick litter layers on the forest floor. Seeds of M. vimineum were sown in plots located under or distant from Lindera benzoin (spicebush) shrubs, and with or without litter manipulations (none, half of natural amount, naturally occurring amount, double the natural amount) in a mature forest in central New Jersey, USA. Populations were monitored for germination and survivorship, as well as growth and fecundity of surviving plants. Neither shrub-associated shade nor litter depth affected seed germination, but both factors affected survivorship, growth and reproduction. The presence of shade from the shrubs reduced survivorship and seed set. Seeds germinating on top of the litter layer also experience higher mortality than seeds germinating under litter and in contact with soil. These results suggest that the interacting effects of shade from understory strata and deep litter layers may limit the spread of M. vimineum. The loss of shrub layers due to intense deer browse and other factors may thus accelerate the spread of this highly invasive species.

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Acknowledgments

The work of two anonymous reviewers greatly improved this manuscript, and their contributions are gratefully acknowledged. This research was also facilitated in part by funding from the Garden Club of America (Caroline Thorn Kissel Scholarship) and the New England Botanical Club (Graduate Student Research Award).

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  1. Jonathon W. Schramm

    Present address: Division of Science and Math Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, 14 College Farm Rd., New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA

    Jonathon W. Schramm & Joan G. Ehrenfeld

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  1. Jonathon W. Schramm
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Correspondence to Jonathon W. Schramm.

Appendix

Appendix

See Fig. 4.

Fig. 4
figure 4

A map detailing the design and layout of the experimental plots in three blocks (A, B, C). Each block contained 15 plots, and each plot was randomly assigned one of five litter treatments (a, b, c, d, e). Each plot was further split into two 100-cm2 subplots, one with shrub shade (s) and one without (n). Total distance between blocks A and C was approximately 250 m, and the slope and aspect in all three blocks was approximately equal

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Schramm, J.W., Ehrenfeld, J.G. Leaf litter and understory canopy shade limit the establishment, growth and reproduction of Microstegium vimineum . Biol Invasions 12, 3195–3204 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-010-9711-1

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