Abstract
Hikers and livestock using mountain trails damage native vegetation and act as seed vectors, thus favouring the spread of non-native plants. We evaluated the effect of trails and livestock abundance on the success of non-native plants in the arid central Andes of Argentina. We surveyed six trails, covering elevations between 2400 and 3570 m a.s.l. and recorded non-native and native vegetation using transects distributed along the elevational gradient and spanning distances up to 22 m from the trail. We assessed how non-native occurrence, richness and cover varied with distance from the trail, intensity of use by livestock, native plant community composition and elevation. We found that trails favoured non-native occurrence, but did not influence richness and cover, while livestock favoured non-native occurrence, richness and cover. Non-native richness and cover decreased with elevation and varied with native community composition. In addition, non-native richness was positively correlated with native shrub cover suggesting possible facilitative interactions. Our results show that despite strong environmental filtering that leads to decreasing non-native abundance with increasing elevation, non-natives occur up to the upper limits of vegetation, and that trails and livestock favour non-native spread in these mountains.
Second Abstract in native language.
Resumen
Las personas y el ganado que utilizan los senderos de montaña dañan la vegetación nativa y actúan como vectores de semillas, favoreciendo la propagación de plantas exóticas. Evaluamos el efecto de los senderos y la abundancia del ganado sobre el éxito de las plantas exóticas en los Andes áridos centrales de Argentina. Relevamos seis senderos, abarcando elevaciones entre 2400 m y 3570 m s.n.m. Registramos la vegetación exótica y nativa mediante transectas distribuidas a lo largo del gradiente de elevación y abarcando distancias de hasta 22 m desde el sendero. Evaluamos cómo varia la ocurrencia, la riqueza y la cobertura de exóticas con la distancia al sendero, la intensidad de uso por el ganado, la composición de la comunidad de plantas nativas y la elevación. Encontramos que los senderos favorecieron la ocurrencia de exóticas, pero no influyeron en la riqueza y cobertura, y que el ganado favoreció tanto la ocurrencia como la riqueza y la cobertura de exóticas. La riqueza y la cobertura de exóticas disminuyeron con la elevación y variaron en función de la composición de la comunidad nativa. Además, la riqueza de exóticas se correlacionó positivamente con la cobertura de arbustos nativos, sugiriendo posibles interacciones de facilitación. Nuestros resultados muestran que a pesar del fuerte filtrado ambiental que lleva a una disminución de la abundancia de exóticas con la elevación, éstas ocurren hasta los límites superiores de la vegetación, y que los senderos y el ganado favorecen su propagación.
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The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon request.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Juan Pablo Scarpa, Hernan Gargantini, José Beamonte, Sol Montepelusso, Walter Tulle, Florencia Alvarez, and Guillermina Elías for field assistance; Leandro Cara for assisting in the calculation of distances from transects to trailheads; Hugo Debandi for the image of the location of the study sites; and staff from Dirección de Recursos Naturales Renovables Mendoza for logistic support. We also thank CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (SECTYP M022, SIIP M062), Neotropical Grassland Conservancy, and The Rufford Foundation for providing funding. We thank three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments, which have contributed to improve our manuscript.
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This research work was financed by Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (SECTYP M022, SIIP M062), Neotropical Grassland Conservancy, The Rufford Foundation.
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MAA, AAB, DPV, JJL, and VA designed the study; MAA, AAB, and LJB carried out the field work and identified the plant species; REMW obtained the climatic data; MAA, AAB, DPV, and VA analysed the data and wrote the article. All authors contributed to the discussion and critical review of the article.
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Alvarez, M.A., Barros, A.A., Vázquez, D.P. et al. Hiking and livestock favor non-native plants in the high Andes. Biol Invasions 24, 3475–3488 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02851-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02851-1