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Park pruning prompts a competitive reversal of an exotic tree, Ligustrum lucidum, in urban forests of Japan

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Abstract

Ligustrum lucidum, a tree native to China has naturalized in Japan where it is often planted in parks and along roads. Naturalized individuals in urban woodlands have uncertain competitiveness against native species, particular in light of the frequent pruning undertaken in these woodlands. We compared fitness-related traits of Ligustrum against two co-occurring native species: a pioneer tree (Mallotus japonicus) and an understory tree (Eurya japonica) under pruned and un-pruned settings. A growth experiments where we assessed the leaf and whole plant characteristics of the 3 species under two environments simulating forest edge and forest interior, and two pruning treatments (with or without) was conducted. Under simulated forest edge without pruning, Ligustrum had lower stem growth and Amax (maximum photosynthetic rate) than Mallotus, suggesting that native species can competitively suppress invasive expansion. With pruning, however, Ligustrum resprouted vigorously in both spring and summer with significantly higher apical growth and total shoots than Mallotus and Eurya in forest edge and interior, respectively. Also, with similar Amax between resprouts of Ligustrum and Mallotus, we see a reversal of competitive advantage in favor of Ligustrum in forest edge. In the forest interior, Ligustrum exhibited shade tolerant properties (i.e., Amax, chlorophyll a/b, and leaf density) similar to Eurya but had more resprout shoots, suggesting that the invader also maintains an advantage under low light. The competitiveness of Ligustrum clearly increased with human disturbance in the form of park pruning. Such management practice can inadvertently enhance the invasiveness of exotic species in urban settings.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Otsu City Parks Department, and Ryuo Shrine, Goryo Shrine for their support and permission to conduct the field portion of the study. This work was supported by an operating grant from Ryukoku University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Solution Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Ryukoku University, Otsu, 520-2101, Japan

    Thomas Lei & Naoki Nishikawa

  2. Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Kansai Research Centre, 68 Nagaikyutaroh, Momoyama, Fushimi, Kyoto, 612-0855, Japan

    Naoko Yamashita

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  1. Thomas Lei
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  2. Naoki Nishikawa
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Correspondence to Thomas Lei.

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Lei, T., Nishikawa, N. & Yamashita, N. Park pruning prompts a competitive reversal of an exotic tree, Ligustrum lucidum, in urban forests of Japan. Urban Ecosyst 19, 1103–1118 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-016-0539-z

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