Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Variation of growth and functional traits of invasive knotweeds (Fallopia spp.) in Belgium

  • Published:
Plant Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Three invasive Fallopia taxa are present in Belgium: F. japonica (FJ), F. sachalinensis (FS) and their hybrid F. × bohemica (FB). FS is the least invasive of the three taxa. In this study, we compared the taxa, in sites where they co-occur, for differences in functional traits that might influence their competitive ability and invasiveness—shoot height and ramification, leaf size, specific leaf area (SLA) and foliar nitrogen (N) concentration. The three taxa exhibited similar growth kinetics and similar SLA. However, FS differed in its architecture and allocation of leaf area, having less ramified shoots and a steeper gradient of decreasing leaf size along the main shoot. Also, FS had greater foliar N and less efficient N resorption from senescing leaves. These traits values may result in lower competitive ability of FS for light and nitrogen. For the same traits, FB was generally intermediate between FS and FJ, but often closer to the latter. FB was more variable than FS and FJ, possibly due to larger genetic variation. SLA and ramification varied greatly amongst sites for all taxa, due in part to plastic response to contrasting light regimes. Variation in functional traits values may in part explain the variation in invasiveness amongst the members of the Fallopia complex in Belgium.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abbott RJ (1992) Plant invasions, interspecific hybridization and the evolution of new plant taxa. Trends Ecol Evol 7:401–405

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Abbott RJ, Lowe AJ (2004) Origins, establishment and evolution of new polyploidy species: Senecio cambrensis and S. eboracensis in the British Isles. Biol J Linn Soc 82:467–474

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aguilera AG, Alpert P, Dukes JS, Harrington R (2010) Impacts of the invasive plant Fallopia japonica (Houtt.) Ronse Decraene on plant communities and ecosystem processes. Biol Invasion 12:1243–1252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ainouche ML, Baumel A, Salmon A, Yannic G (2003) Hybridization, polyploidy and speciation in Spartina (Poaceae). New Phytol 161:165–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alberternst B, Böhmer HJ (2006) NOBANIS—Invasive Alien Species Fact Sheet—Fallopia japonica—from: online database of the North European and Baltic Network on Invasive Alien Species—NOBANIS. www.nobanis.org. Accessed 22 Aug 2007

  • Alpert P, Bone E, Holzapfel C (2000) Invasiveness, invasibility and the role of environmental stress in the spread of non-native plants. Perspect Plant Ecol Evol Syst 3:52–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey JP, Stace CA (1992) Chromosome number, morphology, pairing, and DNA values of species and hybrids in the genus Fallopia (Polygonaceae). Plant Syst Evol 180:29–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey JP, Bimova K, Mandak B (2009) Asexual spread versus sexual reproduction and evolution in Japanese Knotweed s.l. sets the stage for the “Battle of the Clones”. Biol Invasion 11:1189–1203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barney JN, Di Tommaso A, Weston LA (2005) Differences in invasibility of two contrasting habitats and invasiveness of two mugwort Artemisia vulgaris populations. J Appl Ecol 42:567–576

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beerling DJ, Bailey JP, Conolly AP (1994) Fallopia japonica (Houtt.) Ronse Decraene. J Ecol 82:959–979

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bimova K, Mandak B, Pyšek P (2003) Experimental study of vegetative regeneration in four invasive Reynoutria taxa (Polygonaceae). Plant Ecol 166:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cornelissen JHC, Lavorel S, Garnier E, Diaz S, Buchmann N, Gurvich DE, Reich PB, ter Steege H, Morgan HD, van der Heijden MGA, Pausas JG, Poorter H (2003) A handbook of protocols for standardised and easy measurement of plant functional traits worldwide. Aust J Bot 51:335–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dassonville N (2008) Impact des plantes exotiques envahissantes sur le fonctionnement des écosystèmes en Belgique. PhD Thesis, Université Libre de Bruxelles

  • Dassonville N, Guillaumaud N, Piola F, Meerts P, Poly F (2011) The niche construction by the invasive Asian knotweeds (species complex Fallopia): impact on activity, abundance and community structure of denitrifiers and nitrifiers. Biol Invasion. doi:10.1007/s10530-011-9954-5

  • Dukes JS, Mooney HA (1999) Does global change increase the success of biological invaders? Trends Ecol Evol 14:135–139

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ellstrand NC, Schierenbeck KA (2000) Hybridization as a stimulus for the evolution of invasiveness in plants? Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97:7043–7050

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gerlach JD, Rice KJ (2003) Testing life history correlates of invasiveness using congeneric plant species. Ecol Appl 13:67–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grime JP (2001) Plant strategies, vegetation processes and ecosystem functioning. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Grotkopp E, Rejmanek M (2007) High seedling relative growth rate and specific leaf area are traits of invasive species: phylogenetically independent contrasts of woody angiosperms. Am J Bot 94:526–532

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grotkopp E, Rejmanek M, Rost TL (2002) Toward a causal explanation of plant invasiveness: seedling growth and life-history strategies of 29 pine (Pinus) species. Am Nat 159:396–419

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton MA, Murray BR, Cadotte MW, Hose GC, Baker AC, Harris CJ, Licari D (2005) Life-history correlates of plant invasiveness at regional and continental scales. Ecol Lett 8:1066–1074

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs RJ, Humphries SE (1995) An integrated approach to the ecology and management of plant invasions. Conserv Biol 9:761–770

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hollingsworth ML, Bailey JP (2000) Hybridisation and clonal diversity in some introduced Fallopia species (Polygonaceae). Watsonia 23:111–121

    Google Scholar 

  • Killingbeck KT (1996) Nutrients in senesced leaves: keys to the search for potential resorption and resorption proficiency. Ecology 77:1716–1727

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krebs C, Mahy G, Diethart M, Schaffner U, Tiébré MS, Bizoux J-P (2009) Taxa distribution and RAPD markers indicate different origins and regional differentiation of hybrids in the invasive Fallopia complex in central Western Europe. Plant Biol 12:215–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lake JC, Leishman MR (2004) Invasion success of exotic plants in natural ecosystems: the role of disturbance, plant attributes and freedom from herbivores. Biol Conserv 117:215–226

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee CE (2002) Evolutionary genetics of invasive species. Trends Ecol Evol 17:386–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leishman MR, Haslehurst T, Ares A, Baruch Z (2007) Leaf trait relationships of native and invasive plants: community- and global-scale comparisons. New Phytol 176:635–643

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lonsdale WM (1999) Patterns of plant invasions and the concept of invasibility. Ecology 80:1522–1536

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mandak B, Pyšek P, Lysak M, Suda J, Krahulcova A, Bimova K (2003) Variation in DNA-ploidy levels of Reynoutria taxa in the Czech Republic. Ann Bot 92:265–272

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mandak B, Pyšek P, Bimova K (2004) History of the invasion and distribution of Reynoutria taxa in the Czech Republic: a hybrid spreading faster than its parents. Preslia 76:15–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Marigo G, Pautou G (1998) Phenology, growth and ecophysiological characteristics of Fallopia sachalinensis. J Veg Sci 9:379–386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meerts P, Tiébré M-S (2007) Fallopia × bohemica est beaucoup plus répandu que F. sachalinensis dans la région de Bruxelles. Dumortiera 92:22–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Pyšek P, Richardson DM (2007) Traits associated with invasiveness in alien plants: where do we stand? In: Nentwig W (ed) Biological invasions. Springer, New York, pp 97–125

    Google Scholar 

  • Pyšek P, Brock JH, Bimova K, Mandak B, Jarosik V, Koukolikova I, Pergl J, Stepanek J (2003) Vegetative regeneration in invasive Reynoutria (Polygonaceae) taxa: the determinant of invasibility at the genotype level. Am J Bot 90:1487–1495

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rejmanek M (2000) Invasive plants: approaches and predictions. Aust Ecol 25:497–506

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rejmanek M, Richardson DM (1996) What attributes make some plants species more invasive? Ecology 77:1655–1661

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richards CL, Walls RL, Bailey JP, Parameswaran R, George T, Pigliucci M (2008) Plasticity in salt tolerance traits allows for invasion of novel habitat by Japanese knotweed s.l. (Fallopia japonica and F. × bohemica, Polygonaceae). Am J Bot 95(8):931–942

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salmon A, Ainouche ML, Wendel JF (2005) Genetic and epigenetic consequences of recent hybridization and polyploidy in Spartina (Poaceae). Mol Ecol 14:1163–1175

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schnitzler A, Bailey J (2008) Polymorphisme génétique et plasticité phénotypique: deux atouts pour la dispersion des renouées asiatiques? Rev Ecol 63:209–217

    Google Scholar 

  • Siemens TJ, Blossey B (2007) An evaluation of mechanisms preventing growth and survival of two native species in invasive bohemian knotweed (Fallopia × bohemica, Polygonaceae). Am J Bot 94:776–783

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Silvertown J, Lovett-Doust J (1993) Introduction to plant population biology. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith MD, Knapp AK (2001) Physiological and morphological traits of exotic, invasive exotic, and native plant species in tallgrass prairie. Int J Plant Sci 162:785–792

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soltis PS, Soltis DE (2000) The role of genetic and genomic attributes in the success of polyploids. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97:7051–7057

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Speek TAA, Lotz LAP, Ozinga WA, Tamis WLM, Schaminée JHJ, van der Putten WH (2011) Factors relating to regional and local success of exotic plant species in their new range. Divers Distrib 17:542–551

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Theoharides KA, Dukes JS (2007) Plant invasion across space and time: factors affecting nonindigenous species success during four stages of invasion. New Phytol 176:256–273

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thiébaud C, Finzi AC, Affre L, Debussche M, Escarre J (1996) Assessing why two introduced Conyza differ in their ability to invade Mediterranean old fields. Ecology 77:784–791

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiébré MS, Bizoux J-P, Hardy OJ, Bailey JP, Mahy G (2007a) Hybridization and morphogenetic variation in the invasive alien Fallopia (Polygonaceae) complex in Belgium. Am J Bot 94:1900–1910

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tiébré MS, Vanderhoeven S, Saad L, Mahy G (2007b) Hybridization and sexual reproduction in the invasive alien Fallopia (Polygonaceae) complex in Belgium. Ann Bot 99:193–203

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tiébré MS, Saad L, Mahy G (2008) Landscape dynamics and habitat selection by the alien invasive Fallopia (Polygonaceae) in Belgium. Biodivers Conserv 17:2357–2370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Urgenson LS, Reichard SH, Halpern CB (2009) Community and ecosystem consequences of giant knotweed (Polygonum sachalinense) invasion into riparian forests of western Washington, USA. Biol Conserv 142:1536–1541

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Kleunen M, Weber E, Fischer M (2010) A meta-analysis of trait differences between invasive and non-invasive plant species. Ecol Lett 13:235–245

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van Landuyt W, Hoste I, Vanhecke L, Van den Bremt P, Vercruysse W, De Beer D (2006) Atlas van de Flora van Vlaanderen en het Brussels Gewest. Instituut Voor Natuur-en Bosonderzoek, Nationale Plantentuin van België and Flo. Wer

  • Vanderhoeven S, Pieret N, Tiébré M-S, Dassonville N, Meerts P, Rossi E, Nijs I, Pairon M, Jacquemart AL, Vanhecke L, Hoste I, Verloove F, Mahy G (2006) Invasive plants in Belgium: patterns, processes and monitoring (INPLANBEL). Belgian Science Policy, Brussels

    Google Scholar 

  • Verloove F (2006) Catalogue of neophytes in Belgium (1800–2005). National Botanic Garden, Belgium

    Google Scholar 

  • Vila M, Weber E, D’Antonio CM (2000) Conservation implications of invasion by plant hybridization. Biol Invasion 2:207–217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Violle C, Navas M-L, Vile D, Kazakou E, Fortunel C, Garnier E (2007) Let the concept of trait be functional! Oikos 116:882–892

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walls RL (2010) Hybridization and plasticity contribute to divergence among coastal and wetland populations of invasive hybrid Japanese Knotweed sl (Fallopia spp). Estuar Coasts 33:902–918

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright IJ, Reich PB, Westoby M, Ackerly DD, Baruch Z, Bongers F, Cavender-Barres J, Chapin T, Cornelissen JHC, Diemer M, Flexas J, Garnier E, Groom PK, Gulias J, Hikosaka K, Lamont BB, Lee T, Lee W, Lusk C, Midgley JJ, Navas ML, Niinemets U, Oleksyn J, Osada N, Poorter H, Poot P, Prior L, Pyankov VI, Roumet C, Thomas SC, Tjoelker MG, Veneklaas EJ, Villar R (2004) The worldwide leaf economics spectrum. Nature 428:821–827

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study has been made possible by the funding of the ‘Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique’, Belgium (FRFC 2.4605.06). B. Herpigny has a fellowship of the Fonds pour la formation à la Recherche dans l’Industrie et dans l’Agriculture.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Ecologie Végétale et Biogéochimie, Université Libre de Bruxelles, AV FD Roosevelt 50, CP 244, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Basile Herpigny, Nicolas Dassonville, Philippe Ghysels & Pierre Meerts

  2. Unité Biodiversité et Paysage, Gembloux AgroBioTech, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium

    Grégory Mahy

Authors
  1. Basile Herpigny
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nicolas Dassonville
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Philippe Ghysels
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Grégory Mahy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Pierre Meerts
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Basile Herpigny.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Herpigny, B., Dassonville, N., Ghysels, P. et al. Variation of growth and functional traits of invasive knotweeds (Fallopia spp.) in Belgium. Plant Ecol 213, 419–430 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-011-9989-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-011-9989-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation