Article
Ecology
Jacob A. Cowan, Kevin C. Grady, Paul Dijkstra, Egbert Schwartz, Catherine A. Gehring
Summary: This study investigated the negative impact of cheatgrass on sagebrush growth and the reasons for displacement of native plants by invasive species. The results showed that rapid soil alteration by cheatgrass led to suppression of sagebrush growth, which may contribute to the low success rate of sagebrush restoration.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Peter J. Weisberg, Thomas E. Dilts, Jonathan A. Greenberg, Kerri N. Johnson, Henry Pai, Chris Sladek, Christopher Kratt, Scott W. Tyler, Alice Ready
Summary: Accurate detection and mapping of invasive plant species is crucial for targeted management. A multi-temporal classification approach using UAV imagery successfully differentiated between invasive annual grasses and native vegetation based on plant phenology differences. This method provides high-resolution information for modeling invasive plant spread, quantifying invasion risk, and early detection of novel plant invasions.
REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Valentina Borda, Kurt O. Reinhart, Maria Gabriela Ortega, Magali Burni, Carlos Urcelay
Summary: Flavonoids in roots play an important role in determining the invasion success of woody plants, with invasive woody species having higher flavonoid richness in roots compared to non-invasive species.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Juan I. Whitworth-Hulse, Patricio N. Magliano, Sebastian R. Zeballos, Sebastian Aguiar, German Baldi
Summary: Invasive species have the potential to alter hydrological processes by changing the local water balance. Our study found that specific morphological attributes of invasive species determine higher localized water inputs, representing an ecohydrological advantage in water-limited ecosystems. This suggests that the ecological role of stemflow, throughfall, and interception should be considered in future plant invasions research.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Scott D. Wilson, Duane A. Peltzer
Summary: Plant species exhibit different competitive effects, with grasses showing significantly stronger effects per gram compared to woody plants, potentially due to their uptake of soil resources. In contrast, woody plants show lower per-gram competitive effects, likely associated with their positive impact on soil resources. These differences in competitive effects may contribute to shifts from grassland to woody vegetation through feedback interactions with soil resources.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Alex Ceriani, Michele Dalle Fratte, Gustavo Agosto, Antonio Montagnoli, Bruno Enrico Leone Cerabolini
Summary: The eradication of invasive alien plant species is a worldwide necessity. This study investigated the potential bioenergy use of the biomass obtained from eradicating these plants. The results revealed that herbaceous plants are better suited for biochemical processes, while woody plants are more suitable for thermal processes. Grime's CSR strategies were found to be an effective tool for defining the bioenergy potential of these plants.
Article
Plant Sciences
Muhammad Ilyas, Sakhawat Shah, Ya-Wen Lai, Jan Sher, Tao Bai, Fawad Zaman, Farkhanda Bibi, Monika Koul, Shabir Hussain Wani, Ali Majrashi, Hesham F. Alharby, Khalid Rehman Hakeem, Yong-Jian Wang, Shabir A. Rather
Summary: HM contamination and plant invasion can pose threats to local flora. This study found that invasive alien plants have an advantage over native plants in contaminated environments, and this advantage is related to their leaf structure and physiological traits.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Editorial Material
Plant Sciences
Muzammil Hussain, Muhammad Khashi u Rahman, Ratnesh Chandra Mishra, Dominique Van Der Straeten
Summary: Plants release airborne sounds to communicate their stress, which can be utilized to train machine learning models and identify plant stressors. This discovery opens up new possibilities for researching plant-environment interactions.
TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Maribel Vasquez-Valderrama, Carlos P. Carmona, Anibal Pauchard
Summary: The analysis of climatic space shifts in invasive woody legumes between native and introduced areas revealed that most invasive species show differences in climate conditions between the two ranges, with the introduced range having different climatic conditions compared to the native range. The invasive legumes were classified into four groups based on climate differences, with dissociation being the most common. Additionally, species in the expansion group had larger leaves compared to those in the dissociation group.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Hongshuang Xing, Zuomin Shi, Shun Liu, Miao Chen, Gexi Xu, Xiangwen Cao, Miaomiao Zhang, Jian Chen, Feifan Li
Summary: Leaf traits are important indicators of plant life history and may vary according to plant functional type (PFT) and environmental conditions. This study investigated the divergence and correlations of leaf traits among three PFTs (needle-leaved evergreens, broad-leaved evergreens, and broad-leaved deciduous) on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The results showed significant differences in leaf traits among the PFTs, with the main environmental factor influencing the leaf traits being the mean annual temperature.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jinlong Li, Xiaoping Chen, Karl J. Niklas, Jun Sun, Zhaoying Wang, Quanlin Zhong, Dandan Hu, Dongliang Cheng
Summary: The whole-plant economics spectrum (PES) examines the trade-offs among various plant functional traits to provide insights into plant distributions, ecosystem processes, and evolution. By analyzing bark, wood, and leaf traits of subtropical woody species, significant correlations were found among the 25 functional traits, with N and P nutrient levels playing a central role in resource acquisition strategies for evergreen and deciduous species. Evergreen species tend to adopt conservative strategies, while deciduous species favor acquisitive strategies, influencing species biodiversity maintenance.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sarah Fischer, Joe Greet, Christopher J. Walsh, Jane A. Catford
Summary: Riparian forests are structured and maintained by their hydrology, with woody riparian plants adapting to local flood regimes to enhance survival and reproductive success. Research suggests that responses to flood disturbance and variations in morphology and reproductive strategies are intertwined in riparian forests, highlighting the critical role of flood regime in species diversity and structural integrity of these ecosystems.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jingyi Ding, David Eldridge
Summary: Woody plants are spreading globally, causing negative impacts on livestock production and terrestrial ecosystems. A global assessment was conducted to determine if removing these plants can restore productive grasslands and open savannas. However, the results show that removal is not effective in reversing the encroachment impacts, with only partial recovery of herbaceous structure and an overall enhancement of ecosystem functions. The success of removal varies with the encroachment stage and functional traits of the woody species, and is influenced by regional aridity.
Article
Plant Sciences
Catherine Fahey, Stephen Luke Flory
Summary: The study found that invasive plants and simulated drought did not have significant soil legacy effects on plant growth and competition, but soil microbes played a significant role in plant competition. In competitions, soil microbes created a competitive hierarchy where pine was more competitive than wiregrass and cogongrass.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Forestry
Shan Li, Sen Lu, Jing Wang, Zhicheng Chen, Ya Zhang, Jie Duan, Peng Liu, Xueyan Wang, Junkang Guo
Summary: Abiotic stresses can have complex and diverse effects on the growth and development of forest trees. Woody plants show various responses in terms of morphological, physiological, and anatomical traits, such as changes in xylem hydraulic conductivity, root and leaf morphology, and anatomical features. Different abiotic stresses also have unique effects, such as the formation of adventitious roots and aeration tissues under flood stress, irreversible xylem damage caused by forest fires, tissue freezing under low temperature stress, hinderance of ion absorption under salt stress, and biological toxicity induced by heavy metals. Additionally, the effects of combined stress on woody plants are not simply additive, and further studies are needed to understand the underlying mechanisms, especially in natural or near-natural conditions.