Abstract
Invasion by exotic plant species is known to affect native communities and ecosystems, but the mechanisms of the impacts are much less understood. In a field study, we examined the effects of a tree invader, Acer platanoides (Norway maple, NM), on canopy structure and seedling growth in the understory of a North American deciduous forest. The experimental site contains a monospecific patch of A. platanoides and a mixed patch of A. platanoides with its native congener, A. rubrum (red maple, RM). In the study, we examined canopy characteristics of three types of trees in the forests, i.e., RM trees in the mixed forest, NM trees in the mixed forest, and NM trees in its monospecific patch. Height growth and biomass production of RM and NM seedlings under intact canopies and newly created gaps of the three types of trees were followed for two growing seasons. We found that removal of half of the canopy from focal trees increased canopy openness and light transmission to the forest floor, but to a greater extent under NM trees than under RM trees. Seedlings of these two Acer species varied greatly in biomass production under canopies of the same type of trees and in their responses to canopy opening. For example, seedlings of the exotic NM grown under the native RM trees in the mixed forests increased biomass production by 102.4% compared to NM seedlings grown under conspecific trees. The native RM seedlings grown under NM trees, however, reduced biomass production by 23.5% compared to those grown under conspecific trees. It was also observed that RM was much more responsive in biomass production to canopy opening than NM. For instance, total seedling biomass increased by 632.2% in RM, but by only 134.6% in NM in response to the newly created gaps. In addition, we found that NM seedlings allocated a greater portion of biomass below-ground as canopy openness increased, whereas the same trend was not observed in RM seedlings. Our results thus demonstrated that invasion of NM significantly altered canopy structure and community dynamics in the hardwood forest. Because the exotic NM seedlings are able to grow well under the native RM trees, but not vice versa, NM will likely expand its distribution in the forests and make it an ever increasingly serious tree invader in its non-native habitats, including North America.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abrams MD (1992) Fire and the development of oak forests. Bioscience 42:346–353
Abrams MD (1998) The red maple paradox—what explains the widespread expansion of red maple in eastern forests? Bioscience 48:355–366
Adams JM, Fang W, Callaway RM, Cipollini D, Newell E (2009) A cross-continental test of the Enemy Release Hypothesis: leaf herbivory on Acer platanoides (L.) is three times lower in North America than in its native Europe. Biol Invasions 11:1005–1016
Cincotta CL, Adams JM, Holzapfel C (2009) Testing the enemy release hypothesis: a comparison of foliar insect herbivory of the exotic Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.) and the native sugar maple (A. saccharum L.). Biol Invasions 11:379–388
Cronk QCB, Fuller JL (2001) Plant invaders. Earthscan Publishers, London
Dunster K (1990) Exotic plant species management plan, Point Pelee National Park. Report prepared for Parks Canada, Ontario Region
Ehrenfeld JG (2003) Effects of exotic plant invasions on soil nutrient cycling processes. Ecosystems 6:503–523
Ehrenfeld JG, Ravit B, Elgersma K (2005) Feedback in the plant-soil system. Annu Rev Environ Resour 30:75–115
Fang W (2005) Spatial analysis of an invasive front of Acer platanoides: dynamic inferences from static data. Ecography 28:283–294
Fine PVA (2002) The invasibility of tropical forests by exotic plants. J Trop Ecol 18:687–705
Frazer GW, Canham CD, Lertzman KP (1999) Gap Light Analyzer: imaging software to extract canopy structure and gap light transmission indices from true-colour fisheye photographs, users manual and program documentation. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby
Galbraith-Kent SL, Handel SN (2008) Invasive Acer platanoides inhibits native sapling growth in forest understorey communities. J Ecol 96:293–302
Gomez-Aparicio L, Canham CD, Martin PH (2008) Neighbourhood models of the effects of the invasive Acer platanoides on tree seedling dynamics: linking impacts on communities and ecosystems. J Ecol 96:78–90
Gurevitch J, Howard TG, Ashton IW, Leger EA, Howe KM, Woo E, Lerdau M (2008) Effects of experimental manipulation of light and nutrients on establishment of seedlings of native and invasive woody species in Long Island, NY forests. Biol Invasions 10:821–831
Kloeppel BD, Abrams MD (1995) Ecophysiological attributes of the native Acer saccharum and the exotic Acer platanoides in an urban oak forest in Pennsylvania, USA. Tree Physiol 15:739–746
Levine JM, Vila M, Antonio CMD, Dukes JS, Grigulis K, Lavorel S (2003) Mechanisms underlying the impacts of exotic plant invasions. Proc Biol Sci 270:775–781
Levine JM, Pachepsky E, Kendall BE, Yelenik SG, Lambers JHR (2006) Plant-soil feedbacks and invasive spread. Ecol Lett 9:1005–1014
Mack RN, Simberloff D, Lonsdale WM, Evans H, Clout M, Bazzaz FA (2000) Biotic invasions: causes, epidemiology, global consequences, and control. Ecol Appl 7623:689–710
Martin PH (1999) Norway maple (Acer platanoides) invasion of a natural forest stand: understory consequence and regeneration pattern. Biol Invasions 1:215–222
Martin PH, Marks PL (2006) Intact forests provide only weak resistance to a shade-tolerant invasive Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.). J Ecol 94:1070–1079
Matlack GR (1987) Diaspore size, shape, and fall behavior in wind-dispersed plant species. Am J Bot 74:1150–1160
Mitchell A, Wilkinson J (1982) The trees of Britain and northern Europe. Collins, London
Nowak DJ, Rowntree RA (1990) History and range of Norway maple. J Arboric 16:291–296
Parker IM, Simberloff D, Lonsdale WM, Goodell K, Wonham M, Kareiva PM, Williamson MH, Holle BV, Moyle PB, Byers JE, Goldwasser L (1999) Impact: toward a framework for understanding the ecological effects of invaders. Biol Invasions 1:3–19
Reinhart KO, Greene E, Callaway RM (2005) Effects of Acer platanoides invasion on understory plant communities and tree regeneration in the northern Rocky Mountains. Ecography 28:573–582
Reinhart KO, Maestre FT, Callaway RM (2006) Facilitation and inhibition of seedlings of an invasive tree (Acer platanoides) by different tree species in a mountain ecosystem. Biol Invasions 8:231–240
Scheiner SM (2001) MANOVA: multiple response variables and multispecies interactions. In: Scheiner SM, Gurevitch J (eds) Design and analysis of ecological experiments. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 99–115
Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1995) Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in biological research. W. H. Freeman, New York
Spongberg SA (1998) A reunion of trees: the discovery of exotic plants and their introduction into North American and European landscapes. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Stenburg P, Linder S, Smolander H, Flower-Ellis J (1994) Performance of the LAI-2000 plant canopy analyzer in estimating leaf area index of some Scots pine stands. Tree Physiol 14:981–995
von Ende CN (2001) Repeated-measures analysis: growth and other time-dependent measures. In: Scheiner SM, Gurevitch J (eds) Design and analysis of ecological experiments. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 134–157
Von Holle B, Delcourt HR, Simberloff D (2003) The importance of biological inertia in plant community resistance to invasion. J Veg Sci 14:425–432
Webb SL, Kaunzinger CK (1993) Biological invasion of the Drew University (New Jersey) forest preserve by Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.). Bull Torrey Bot Club 120:343–349
Webb SL, Dwyer M, Kaunzinger CK, Wyckoff PH (2000) The myth of the resilient forest: case study of the invasive Norway Maple (Acer platanoides). Rhodora 102:332–354
Webster CR, Jenkins MA, Jose S (2006) Woody invaders and the challenges they pose to forest ecosystems in the eastern United States. J Forest 104:366–374
Welles JM, Norman JM (1991) Instrument for indirect measurement of canopy architecture. Agron J 83:818–825
Wyckoff PH, Webb SL (1996) Understory influence of the invasive Norway maple (Acer platanoides). Bull Torrey Bot Club 123:197–205
Acknowledgments
Dr. Jessica Gurevitch is gratefully acknowledged for constant support and intellectual stimulation during the field experiments. We thank Robert Sokal, James Thompson, Marie-Josee Fortin and Jonathan Adams for their advice on data analysis and manuscript preparation. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions which greatly improved the manuscript. Funding for the field study was provided in part by Sigma Xi, Association of Women in Sciences and International Society of Arboriculture to W.F.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by R. D. Guy.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fang, W., Wang, X. Impact of invasion of Acer platanoides on canopy structure and understory seedling growth in a hardwood forest in North America. Trees 25, 455–464 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-010-0520-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-010-0520-z