Abstract
Preventing invasion of exotic species into urban forests is important for sustaining native species diversity. In Japan, Ligustrum lucidum, an invasive tree, has become widespread in urban areas. Here, we investigated the spread of L. lucidum in a semi-natural, urban shrine forest to infer which native species’ preferred habitats may be affected. L. lucidum was most abundant near the artificially created forest edge where canopy trees are pruned regularly. Spatial distribution of L. lucidum overlapped with those of two native species (Cinnamomum japonicum, Quercus glauca), but was segregated from the other three native species. We also compared leaf functional traits between L. lucidum and the native species to infer functional niche overlap. L. lucidum exhibited greater plasticity of leaf functional traits compared to native species and its leaf functional traits were similar with Ci. japonicum, Ilex rotunda and Q. glauca, but not with Camelia japonica and Ternstroemia gymnanthera. Our results suggest that, currently, the preferred habitat and realized functional niche of L. lucidum overlaps with those of Ci. japonicum and Q. glauca. High plasticity of leaf functional traits contributing to shade tolerance may allow L. lucidum to expand its spatial distribution in this forest, affecting other native species in the future. Our results emphasize the importance of removing invasive species during early stages of invasion while their distribution is still relatively confined and negative effects on native species are limited.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and material
Data will be deposited in the data depository at Kobe University.
References
Abe H, Matsuki R, Ueno S, Nashimoto M, Hasegawa M (2006) Dispersal of Camellia japonica seeds by Apodemus speciosus revealed by maternity analysis of plants and behavioral observation of animal vectors. Ecol Res 21:732–740
Alvey AA (2006) Promoting and preserving biodiversity in the urban forest. Urban for Urban Green 5:195–201
Aragon R, Groom M (2003) Invasion by Ligustrum lucidum (Oleaceae) in NW Argentina: early stage characteristics in different habitat types. Rev Biol Trop 51:59–70
Cadotte MW, Cavender-Bares J, Tilman D, Oakley TH (2009) Using phylogenetic, functional and trait diversity to understand patterns of plant community productivity. PLoS ONE 4:e5695
Cronk QCB, Fuller JL (1995) Plant invaders: the threat to natural ecosystems. Chapman & Hall, London
Dale MRT (2000) Spatial pattern analysis in plant ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Davidson AM, Jennions M, Nicotra AB (2011) Do invasive species show higher phenotypic plasticity than native species and if so, is it adaptive? A meta-analysis. Ecol Lett 14:419–431
Dawson W, Rohr RP, van Kleunen M, Fischer M (2012) Alien plant species with a wider global distribution are better able to capitalize on increased resource availability. New Phytol 194:859–867
Funk JL (2008) Differences in plasticity between invasive and native plants from a low resource environment. J Ecol 96:1162–1173
Ghalambor CK, McKay JK, Carroll SP, Reznick DN (2007) Adaptive versus non-adaptive phenotypic plasticity and the potential for contemporary adaptation in new environments. Funct Ecol 21:394–407
Hashimoto Y, Hattori T, Ishida H, Toi K (2005) The alien plant Ligustrum lucidum escaping from planting sites to indigenous vegetation in Japan. Landsc Res J 68:713–716 (in Japanese with English abstract)
Hoyos LE, Gavier-Pizarro GI, Kuemmerle T, Bucher EH, Radeloff VC, Tecco PA (2010) Invasion of glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum) and native forest loss in the Sierras Chicas of Co´rdoba, Argentina. Biol Invasions 12:3261–3275
Huston MA (2004) Management strategies for plant invasions: manipulating productivity, disturbance, and competition. Divers Distrib 10:167–178
Ishii H, Ichinose G, Ohsugi Y, Iwasaki A (2016) Vegetation recovery after removal of invasive Trachycarpus fortunei in a fragmented urban shrine forest. Urban for Urban Green 15:53–57
Ishii HR, Horikawa S, Noguchi Y, Azuma W (2018) Variation of intra-crown leaf plasticity of Fagus crenata across its geographical range in Japan. For Ecol Manag 429:437–448
Ito C, Fujiwara K (2007) Habitat and ecological characteristics of the alien species Ligustrum lucidum Ait. in urban forests in Japan. Jpn J Conserv Ecol 12:143–150 (in Japanese with English abstract)
Kameyama Y, Kiyota Y, Nakamura A, Hamano C, Suzuki K (2012) Interspecific crossability and the possibility of natural hybridization between native Ligustrum japonicum Thunb. and exotic Ligustrum lucidum Ait. in Japan. Jpn J Conserv Ecol 17:147–154 (in Japanese with English abstract)
Lamarque LJ, Delzon S, Lortie CJ (2011) Tree invasions: a comparative test of the dominant hypotheses and functional traits. Biol Invasions 13:1959–1989
Loosemore BN, Ford ED (2006) Statistical inference using the G or K point pattern spatial statistics. Ecology 87:1925–1931
Moles AT, Gruber MAM, Bonser SP (2008) A new framework for predicting invasive plant species. J Ecol 96:13–17
Niinemets U, Valladares F, Ceulemans R (2003) Leaf-level phenotypic variability and plasticity of invasive Rhododendron ponticum and non-invasive Ilex aquifolium co-occuring at two contrasting European sites. Plant, Cell Environ 26:941–956
Ordonez A, Wright IJ, Olff H (2010) Functional differences between native and alien species: a global-scale comparison. Funct Ecol 24:1353–1361
Osugi Y, Ishii H (2009) Different physiological and morphological responses of leaves and branches of Ligustrum japonicum and invasive L. lucidum to the light environment. J Jpn Soc Reveg Tech 35:45–50 (in Japanese with English abstract)
Palacio-Lopez K, Gianoli E (2011) Invasive plants do not display greater phenotypic plasticity than their native or non-invasive counterparts: a meta-analysis. Oikos 120:1393–1401
Reichard SH (1994) Assessing the potential of invasiveness in woody plants introduced in North America. University of Washington
Richards CL, Boosdorf O, Muth NZ, Gurevitch J, Pigliucci M (2006) Jack of all trades, master of some? On the role of phenotypic plasticity in plant invasions. Ecol Lett 9:981–993
Richardson DM (2011) Trees and shrubs. In: Simberloff D, Rejmanek M (eds) Encyclopedia of biological invasions. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp 670–677
Richardson DM, Rejmanek M (2011) Trees and shrubs as invasive alien species–a global review. Divers Distrib 17:788–809
Ripley BD (1979) Tests of “randomness” for spatial point patterns. J R Stat Ser B 41:368–374
Valladares F, Gianoli E, Gómez JM (2007) Ecological limits to plant phenotypic plasticity. New Phytol 176:749–763
Vila M, Weiner J (2004) Are invasive plant species better competitors than native plant species?/evidence from pair-wise experiments. Oikos 105:229–238
Wu C-W, Ke T-S, Chang Y-J, Chang Y-S (2013) Chlorophyll fluorescence and leaf-air temperature difference as potential shade-tolerance indexes of ornamental plants. Adv Sci Lett 19:3063–3066. https://doi.org/10.1166/asl.2013.5052
Xu J, Jiang X-J, Westwood M, Song Y-G, Turkington R (2015) Phylogeography of Quercus glauca (Fagaceae), a dominant tree of East Asian subtropical evergreen forests, based on three chloroplast DNA interspace sequences. Tree Genomics Genomes 11:805
Yaguchi Y (2013) Dictionary of greening trees. Seibido Shinkosha Printing Co., Tokyo, p 431 (in Japanese)
Yoshinaga C, Kameyama A (2001) Urban ecological study on expansion of glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum Ait.). J Jpn Soc Reveg Tech 27:44–49 (in Japanese with English abstract)
Acknowledgements
We thank the staff of Nishinomiya Shrine for facilitating our research. Faculty and staff of the Forest Resources Lab, Kobe Univ. provided field assistance and academic advice. Dr. H-M Rockwell gave statistical advice during revision. We especially acknowledge the field efforts of Ayako Iwasaki, Yoshihiro Ohsugi, and Gaku Ichinose who established and surveyed the research plot. Part of this study was funded by Kobe Parks and Greenery Association student research award to CH.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
CH and HI share the first authorship. They conceived the study, led the field work, analyzed the data and wrote the paper together. KK and YN helped with field work. MO conducted spatial analysis using R software. MH provided facilities for chemical analysis. All the authors have approved publication of the final draft.
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ishii, H.R., Hara, C., Kashiwagi, K. et al. Spatial and functional niche overlap between invasive Ligustrum lucidum and native woody species in an urban shrine forest in Japan. Landscape Ecol Eng 18, 1–10 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11355-021-00474-7
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11355-021-00474-7