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Does intrinsic light heterogeneity in Ricinus communis L. monospecific thickets drive species’ population dynamics?

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Abstract

Ricinus communis L. colonizes heterogeneous urban landscapes as monospecific thickets. The ecological understanding on colonization success of R. communis population due to variable light availability is lacking. Therefore, to understand the effect of intrinsic light heterogeneity on species’ population dynamics, R. communis populations exposed to variable light availability (low, intermediate, and high) were examined for performance strategies through estimation of key vegetative, eco-physiological, biochemical, and reproductive traits. Considerable variability existed in studied plant traits in response to available light. Individuals inhabiting high-light conditions exhibited high eco-physiological efficiency and reproductive performance that potentially confers population boom. Individuals exposed to low light showed poor performance in terms of eco-physiology and reproduction, which attribute to bust. However, individuals in intermediate light were observed to be indeterminate to light availability, potentially undergoing trait modulations with uncertainty of available light. Heterogeneous light availability potentially drives the boom and bust cycles in R. communis monospecific thickets. Such boom and bust cycles subsequently affect species’ dominance, persistence, collapse, and/or resurgence as an aggressive colonizer in contrasting urban environments. The study fosters extensive monitoring of R. communis thickets to probe underlying mechanism(s) affecting expansions and/or collapses of colonizing populations.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions and comments on previous versions of the manuscript. NG acknowledges Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) support from University Grants Commission, India. NG also acknowledges financial support from DBT and CICS, India for presenting a part of this research at the 7th International Weed Science Congress, 2016 held at Prague, Czech Republic. GPS acknowledges funding support from University of Delhi and Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology, India. We are grateful to Prof. K.S. Rao, Department of Botany, University of Delhi, India for CHN elemental analyzer facility support.

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    Neha Goyal, Kanhaiya Shah & Gyan Prakash Sharma

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Goyal, N., Shah, K. & Sharma, G.P. Does intrinsic light heterogeneity in Ricinus communis L. monospecific thickets drive species’ population dynamics?. Environ Monit Assess 190, 410 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-018-6791-3

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