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Forest plant diversity is threatened by Robinia pseudoacacia (black-locust) invasion

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Abstract

The effects of black-locust invasion on plant forest diversity are still poorly investigated. Vascular plants are likely to be influenced by increasing nutrient availability associated with the nitrogen-fixing activity of black-locust, whereas it is not clear if, along with stand aging, black-locust formations regain forest species. The main aim of the present study was to test whether the increase of black-locust stand age promoted a plant variation in mature stands leading to assemblages similar to those of native forests. Therefore, plant richness and composition of stands dominated by native trees were compared with pure black-locust stands of different successional stages. Our study confirmed that the replacement of native forests by pure black-locust stands causes both plant richness loss and shifts in species composition. In black-locust stands plant communities are dominated by nitrophilous species and lack many of the oligothrophic and acidophilus species typical of native forests. Plant communities of native forests are more diverse with respect to pure black-locust stands, suggesting that black-locust invasion also causes a homogenization of the plant forest biota. We did not detect differences across the successional gradient of black-locust stands, and mature stands do not recover the diversity of plant species which are lost by the replacement of the native forests by black-locust. Accordingly some efforts in reducing the negative impacts of black-locust invasion on plant forest biota should be focused at least in those areas where conservation is among management priorities, such in the case of habitats included in the Habitat Directive (92/43 ECE).

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Acknowledgments

This work was partly conducted within the project QuiT (Inquinamento biologico in Toscana ed elaborazione di scenari futuri in relazione al cambiamento climatico) POR-FSE 2007–2013, Resp. Francesca Gherardi. Finally, we thank the Province of Pistoia for financial support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Florence, via G. La Pira 4, 50121, Florence, Italy

    Renato Benesperi, Claudia Giuliani, Silvana Zanetti, Matilde Gennai, Marta Mariotti Lippi, Tommaso Guidi & Bruno Foggi

  2. Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, via Giorgieri 10, 34100, Trieste, Italy

    Juri Nascimbene

Authors
  1. Renato Benesperi
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  2. Claudia Giuliani
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  3. Silvana Zanetti
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  4. Matilde Gennai
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  5. Marta Mariotti Lippi
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  6. Tommaso Guidi
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  7. Juri Nascimbene
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  8. Bruno Foggi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Claudia Giuliani.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

Species are listed in alphabetical order. Species frequency is expressed as the percentage of plots for each stand type in which the species occurred

Species

Frequency (%)

BL_Y

BL_A

BL_M

Native

Abies alba

0

0

0

14

Acer campestre

0

14

14

57

Acer pseudoplatanus a

14

14

14

29

Agrostis capillaris bc

14

29

0

0

Agrostis stolonifera

0

0

14

0

Aira caryophyllea, subsp. caryophyllea

0

0

0

14

Ajuga reptans

0

0

0

29

Alliaria petiolata a

29

14

14

29

Anemonoides nemorosa

0

0

0

43

Anthoxanthum odoratum, subsp. odoratum

0

0

0

14

Arabis sagittata b

0

14

0

0

Arum italicum, subsp. italicum

0

0

29

0

Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, subsp. adiantum-nigrum bc

0

14

29

0

Brachypodium rupestre

29

29

0

29

Brachypodium sylvaticum, subsp. sylvaticum

0

14

0

0

Briza maxima b

0

14

0

0

Bromus diandrus, subsp. maximus

0

14

0

0

Bromus sterilis

71

29

0

0

Calluna vulgaris

0

0

0

14

Campanula rapunculus

14

0

0

0

Campanula trachelium, subsp. trachelium

0

0

0

14

Cardamine bulbifera

0

0

0

14

Cardamine chelidonia

0

14

0

0

Cardamine hirsuta

0

0

29

0

Cardamine impatiens, subsp. impatiens a

0

0

0

14

Carex sylvatica, subsp. sylvatica

0

0

0

14

Castanea sativa

14

29

71

86

Cephalanthera damasonium

0

0

0

14

Chaerophyllum aureum a

0

29

14

14

Chaerophyllum hirsutum a

43

0

14

0

Clematis vitalba a

43

43

14

0

Convolvulus althaeoides b

0

0

14

0

Convolvulus arvensis

14

14

0

0

Cornus mas

14

0

0

14

Cornus sanguinea

0

14

0

14

Corylus avellana a

14

0

14

0

Crataegus monogyna b

71

29

43

29

Crepis leontodontoides ca

0

14

0

0

Crocus vernus

0

0

0

29

Cruciata glabra

0

0

0

29

Cytisus scoparius, subsp. scoparius bc

0

0

0

57

Cytisus villosus

0

0

0

14

Dactylis glomerata.

0

14

0

0

Daphne laureola b

0

0

0

29

Deschampsia flexuosa

0

0

0

14

Digitalis lutea, subsp. australis

0

0

0

57

Dryopteris filix

0

0

0

14

Epipactis atrorubens

0

0

0

14

Epipactis helleborine

0

0

0

14

Erica arborea bc

0

0

0

14

Erigeron sumatrensis a

0

14

0

0

Euonymus europaeus

14

0

0

0

Euphorbia amygdaloides, subsp. amygdaloides

0

0

0

14

Euphorbia dulcis

0

0

0

57

Fallopia dumetorum

0

14

0

0

Festuca heterophylla

29

29

0

57

Fragaria vesca, subsp. vesca

0

14

0

0

Fraxinus ornus, subsp. ornus b

43

29

57

43

Galium aparine

14

57

14

14

Genista germanica

0

0

0

14

Genista pilosa

0

0

0

14

Genista tinctoria

0

0

0

14

Geranium lucidum

29

14

0

0

Geranium nodosum

0

0

0

14

Geranium purpureum b

14

29

14

14

Geranium robertianum

0

14

0

14

Geranium rotundifolium b

14

0

0

0

Geum urbanum a

0

0

14

0

Hedera helix

71

57

100

29

Helleborus bocconei, subsp. bocconei

14

0

0

0

Hieracium murorum

0

0

0

43

Holcus lanatus

29

0

0

0

Holcus mollis bc

0

0

0

14

Ilex aquifolium

0

0

14

14

Juniperus communis

0

0

0

14

Lactuca muralis

14

0

43

14

Lamium album, subsp. album

14

0

0

14

Lamium maculatum

0

0

0

14

Lamium purpureum

0

29

14

0

Lathyrus linifolius

0

0

0

14

Laurus nobilis

29

0

57

0

Lonicera caprifolium

14

0

14

0

Lotus corniculatus

0

0

0

14

Lunaria annua

29

43

29

0

Luzula forsteri

0

0

0

57

Luzula multiflora b

0

14

0

0

Luzula pedemontana

0

14

0

43

Medicago orbicularis

0

14

0

0

Melica uniflora

0

0

14

0

Melittis melissophyllum, subsp. melissophyllum b

14

0

0

0

Moehringia trinervia a

0

0

0

14

Molinia caerulea, subsp. arundinacea

0

0

0

14

Muscari comosum

0

29

0

0

Ornithogalum umbellatum

0

14

0

0

Ostrya carpinifolia

0

0

29

29

Physospermum cornubiense

0

0

0

14

Phyteuma scorzonerifolium

0

0

0

29

Pinus pinaster, subsp. pinaster

0

0

0

14

Poa nemoralis, subsp. nemoralis b

0

0

0

14

Poa sylvicola

14

29

14

14

Poa trivialis a

0

0

43

29

Polypodium interjectum c

29

14

14

0

Polystichum aculeatum a

0

29

14

0

Polystichum setiferum

43

29

43

0

Potentilla micrantha

14

0

0

14

Primula vulgaris, subsp. vulgaris

0

0

0

14

Prunus avium, subsp. avium

0

0

0

43

Prunus spinosa, subsp. spinosa

0

0

0

14

Pteridium aquilinum, subsp. aquilinum bc

0

0

0

71

Quercus cerris

0

29

14

71

Quercus ilex

14

0

0

0

Quercus pubescens, subsp. pubescens

57

14

0

0

Ranunculus lanuginosus a

0

14

29

0

Robinia pseudoacacia a

100

100

100

14

Rorippa sylvestris, subsp. sylvestris

0

0

0

14

Rosa canina

0

0

0

14

Rubia peregrina

29

29

29

0

Rubia peregrina, subsp. peregrina b

0

0

0

14

Rubus caesius a

0

14

0

0

Rubus hirtus a

29

0

57

57

Rubus ulmifolius a

43

100

57

0

Rumex crispus

0

0

0

14

Rumex sanguineus a

14

14

0

0

Ruscus aculeatus

14

14

14

14

Sambucus nigra a

57

43

86

0

Sanicula europaea

0

0

0

29

Senecio ovatus a

0

14

0

0

Serratula tinctoria, subsp. tinctoria

0

0

0

14

Silene italica, subsp. italica

0

14

0

14

Solidago virgaurea.

0

0

0

43

Stachys officinali b

0

0

0

14

Stellaria media, subsp. media

14

71

57

29

Stellaria nemorum, subsp. montana a

0

14

0

0

Tamus communis

71

57

57

14

Teucrium scorodonia bc

0

0

0

14

Torilis japonica a

14

14

29

0

Trifolium repens

0

0

0

14

Ulmus minor, subsp. minor

0

0

0

14

Urtica dioica, subsp. dioica a

14

29

0

0

Vaccinium myrtillus c

0

0

0

43

Verbascum pulverulentum a

0

14

0

0

Viburnum tinus, subsp. tinus b

0

0

0

14

Viola alba, subsp. dehnhardtii

14

29

43

0

Viola reichenbachiana

14

0

14

14

  1. Nomenclature follows Conti et al. (2005, 2007)
  2. BL_Y = young black-locust stands; BL_A = adult black-locust stands; BL_M = mature black-locust stands; Native = stands composed by native tree species
  3. aMarks nitrophilous species (Ellenberg indicator value for eutrophication ≥6)
  4. bOligotrophic species (Ellenberg indicator value for eutrophication ≤3)
  5. cAcidophilous species (Ellemberg indicator value for substrate acidity ≤3)

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Benesperi, R., Giuliani, C., Zanetti, S. et al. Forest plant diversity is threatened by Robinia pseudoacacia (black-locust) invasion. Biodivers Conserv 21, 3555–3568 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-012-0380-5

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