Abstract
We documented the relationship between densities of invasive exotic shrubs, distance to road, and successional age of the forest in 14 forested sites throughout central and southern Indiana. Roadways are increasingly abundant, human-made features that can be conduits for the spread of invasive exotic plants in a number of ecosystems. Little is known, however, about the role of roads in eastern deciduous forest ecosystems where road density is high. Further, it is not known whether the distribution of exotic plants along roads depends on the successional age of the forest. In this study, densities of four of seven exotic shrub species declined with increasing distance to the nearest road across all successional ages. Greater densities of exotic shrubs were found in young and mid-successional forests than mature forests. However, there was no interaction between distance to road and forest age, suggesting that the role of roads in the invasion process does not change across forest successional ages. We outline several potential mechanisms that may drive patterns of shrub distribution along roadside edges as a guide for future research.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Angold P. G. (1997). The impact of a road upon adjacent heathland vegetation: Effects on plant species composition. J. Appl. Ecol. 34:409–417
Barton A. M., Brewster L. B., Cox A. N., Prentiss N. K. (2004). Non-indigenous woody invasive plants in a rural New England town. Biological Invasions 6:205–211
Braun E.L. 1950. Deciduous Forest of Eastern North America. Hafner Press, New York, 596 pp
Brothers T. S., Spingarn A. (1992). Forest fragmentation and alien plant invasion of central Indiana old-growth forests. Conservation Biology 6:91–100
Cadenasso M. L., Pickett S. T. A. (2000). Linking forest edge structure to edge function: mediation of herbivore damage. Journal of Ecology 88:31–44
Collier M. H., Vankat J. L., Hughes M. R. (2002). Diminished plant richness and abundance below Lonicera maackii, an invasive shrub. American Midland Naturalist 147:60–71
Conover W. J., Iman R. L. (1981). Rank transformations as a bridge between parametric and nonparametric statistics. American Statistician 35:124–129
Delgado J. D., Arevalo J. R., Fernandez-Palacios J. M. (2001). Road and topography effects on invasion: edge effects in rat foraging patterns in two oceanic island forests (Tenerife, Canary Islands). Ecography 24:539–546
Farnsworth E. J. (2004). Patterns of plant invasions at sites with rare plant species throughout New England. Rhodora 106:97–117
Forman R. T. T., Alexander L. E. (1998). Roads and their major ecological effects. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 29:207–231
Forman R. T. T., Deblinger R. D. (2000). The ecological road-effect zone of a Massachusetts (USA) suburban highway. Conservation Biology 14:36–46
Foster D. R. (1992). Land-use history (1730–1990) and vegetation dynamics in central New England, USA. Journal of Ecology 80:753–772
Fraver S. (1994). Vegetation responses along edge-to interior gradients in the mixed hardwood forests of the Roanoke River Basin, North Carolina. Conservation Biology 8:822–832
Gehlhausen S. M., Schwartz M. W., Augspurger C. K. (2000). Vegetation and microclimatic edge effects in two mixed-mesophytic forest fragments. Plant Ecology 147:21–35
Gelbard J. L., Belnap J. (2003). Roads as conduits for exotic plant invasions in a semiarid landscape. Conservation Biology 17:420–432
Gelbard J. L., Harrison S. (2003). Roadless habitats as refuges for native grasslands: Interactions with soil, aspect, and grazing. Ecological Applications 13:404–415
Goldblum D., Beatty S. W. (1999). Influence of an old field/forest edge on a northeastern United States deciduous forest understory community. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 126:335–343
Gorchov D. L., Trisel D. E. (2003). Competitive effects of the invasive shrub,Lonicera maackii (Rupr.) Herder (Caprifoliaceae), on the growth and survival of native tree seedlings. Plant Ecology 166:13–24
Gould A. M. A., Gorchov D. L. (2000). Effects of the exotic invasive shrub Lonicera maackii on the survival and fecundity of three species of native annuals. American Midland Naturalist 144:36–50
Harrison S., Hohn C., Ratay S. (2002). Distribution of exotic plants along roads in a peninsular nature reserve. Biological Invasions 4:425–430
Hartman K. M., Mccarthy B. C. (2004). Restoration of a forest understory after the removal of an invasive shrub, Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii). Restoration Ecology 12:154–165
Haskell D. G. (2000). Effects of forest roads on macroinvertebrate soil fauna of the Southern Appalachian mountains. Conservation Biology 14:57–63
Ingold J. L., Craycraft M. J. (1983). Avian frugivory on honeysuckle (Lonicera) in southwestern Ohio. Ohio Journal of Science 83:256–258
Inouye R. S., Huntly N. J., Tilman D., Tester J. R., Stillwell M., Zinnel K. C. (1987). Old-field succession on a Minnesota sand plain. Ecology 68:12–26
Jacquart E. 2000. Invasive plants in Indiana. Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society
Johnston F. M., Johnston S. W. (2004). Impacts of road disturbance on soil properties and on exotic plant occurrence in subalpine areas of the Australian Alps. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 36:201–207
Leuschner C. (2002). Forest succession and water resources: soil hydrology and ecosystem water turnover in early, mid and late stages of a 300-yr-long chronosequence on sandy soil. In: Dohrenbusch A., Bartsch N. (eds), Forest Development: Succession, Environmental Stress, and Forest Management. Springer, Berlin, pp. 1–65
Levine M. T., Feller I. C. (2004). Effects of forest age and disturbance on population persistence in the understory herb, Arisaema triphyllum (Araceae). Plant Ecology 172:73–82
Luken J. O., Goessling N. (1995). Seedling distribution and potential persistence of the exotic shrub Lonicera maackii in fragmented forests. American Midland Naturalist 133:124–130
Luken J. O., Mattimiro D. T. (1991). Habitat-specific resilience of the invasive shrub amur honeysuckle (Lonicera-maackii) during repeated clipping. Ecological Applications 1:104–109
Lundgren M. R., Small C. J., Dreyer G. D. (2004). Influence of land use and site characteristics on invasive plant abundance in the Quinebaug Highlands of southern New England. Northeastern Naturalist 11:313–332
Merriam R. W., Feil E. (2002). The potential impact of an introduced shrub on native plant diversity and forest regeneration. Biological Invasions 4:369–373
Miller J.H. 2003. Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests: A Field Guide for Identification and Control. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Asheville, NC
Miller K. E., Gorchov D. L. (2004). The invasive shrub, Lonicera maackii, reduces growth and fecundity of perennial forest herbs. Oecologia 139:359–375
Morris L. L., Walck J. L., Hidayati S. N. (2002). Growth and reproduction of the invasive Ligustrum sinense and native Forestiera ligustrina (Oleaceae): Implications for the invasion and persistence of a nonnative shrub. International Journal of Plant Sciences 163:1001–1010
Myers J. A., Vellend M., Gardescu S., Marks P. L. (2004). Seed dispersal by white-tailed deer: implications for long-distance dispersal, invasion, and migration of plants in eastern North America. Oecologia 139:35–44
National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 2002. Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas. Shrubs. http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/romu.htm (accessed June 17, 2004)
Parendes L. A., Jones J. A. (2000). Role of light availability and dispersal in exotic plant invasion along roads and streams in the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest, Oregon. Conservation Biology 14:64–75
Riitters K. H., Wickham J. D. (2003). How far to the nearest road? Frontiers in Ecology 1:125–129
The Nature Conservancy. 2004. The Invasive Species Initiative
Trombulak S. C., Frissell C. A. (2000). Review of ecological effects of roads on terrestrial and aquatic communities. Conservation Biology 14:18–30
Truscott A. M., Palmer S. C. F., Mcgowan G. M., Cape J. N., Smart S. (2005). Vegetation composition of roadside verges in Scotland: the effects of nitrogen deposition, disturbance and management. Environmental Pollution 136:109–118
Tyser R. W., Worley C. A. (1992). Alien flora in grasslands adjacent to road and trail corridors in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Conservation Biology 6:253–262
Watkins R. Z., Chen J. Q., Pickens J., Brosofske K. D. (2003). Effects of forest roads on understory plants in a managed hardwood landscape. Conservation Biology 17:411–419
Whitney G. G., Foster D. R. (1988). Overstorey composition and age as determinants of the understorey flora of woods of central New-England. Journal of Ecology 76:867–876
Acknowledgements
We thank the Indiana University Research and Teaching Preserve, the Blatchley Nature Study Club, and the Indiana Academy of Science for financial assistance and Shakamak State Park, Fort Harrison State Park, Crane Naval Weapons Support Center, the Sycamore Land Trust, Morgan-Monroe/Yellowwood State Forest, Eagle Creek Park, and Betty Moore for use of their properties. We also thank Jennifer Rudgers for valuable comments which helped greatly to improve the manuscript and for help with statistical analysis. We also acknowledge Ella Ingram, Jennifer Koslow, and Kurt Reinhart for reviewing earlier drafts of this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Flory, S.L., Clay, K. Invasive shrub distribution varies with distance to roads and stand age in eastern deciduous forests in Indiana, USA. Plant Ecol 184, 131–141 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-005-9057-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-005-9057-4