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Allelopathic effect of a native species on a major plant invader in Europe

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Abstract

Biological invasions have become a major global issue in ecosystem conservation. As formalized in the “novel weapon hypothesis”, the allelopathic abilities of species are actively involved in invasion success. Here, we assume that allelopathy can also increase the biotic resistance of native species against invasion. We tested this hypothesis by studying the impact of the native species Sambucus ebulus on the colonization of propagules of the invasive species Fallopia x bohemica and the subsequent development of plants from these. Achenes and rhizome fragments from two natural populations were grown in a greenhouse experiment for 50 days. We used an experimental design that involved “donor” and “target” pots in order to separate resource competition from allelopathy. An allelopathic treatment effect was observed for plant growth but not for propagule establishment. Treatment affected, in particular, the growth of Fallopia plants originating from achenes, but there was less influence on plants originating from rhizomes. By day 50, shoot height had decreased by 27 % for plants originating from rhizomes and by 38 % for plants originating from achenes. The number of leaves for plants originating from achenes had only decreased by 20 %. Leaf and above- and below-ground dry masses decreased with treatment by 40, 41 and 25 % for plants originating from rhizomes and 70, 61 and 55 % for plants originating from achenes, respectively. S. ebulus extracts were analysed using high-performance chromatography, and the choice of test molecules was narrowed down. Our results suggest native species use allelopathy as a biotic containment mechanism against the naturalization of invasive species.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Denis Desbouchages for help during greenhouse experiments (FR 41, Université Lyon 1). This study was allowed thanks to the financial support of the project “Scientific basis for a control of Asian knotweeds” by FEDER (Plan Loire Grandeur Nature), Agence de l’Eau Loire Bretagne, Conseil Général du département de la Loire and Région Rhône-Alpes.

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  1. Mathias Christina

    Present address: CIRAD, UMR Eco&Sols, Montpellier, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universite Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR5023, LEHNA, 43 Boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France

    Mathias Christina, Soraya Rouifed, Sara Puijalon, Félix Vallier & Florence Piola

  2. Universite Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, CNRS, UMR5557, Ecologie Microbienne, 43 Boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France

    Guillaume Meiffren & Floriant Bellvert

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  1. Mathias Christina
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  2. Soraya Rouifed
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Correspondence to Florence Piola.

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Communicated by: Beverley Glover

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Christina, M., Rouifed, S., Puijalon, S. et al. Allelopathic effect of a native species on a major plant invader in Europe. Sci Nat 102, 12 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-015-1263-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-015-1263-x

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