Rumex acetosella L. (Polygonaceae) invasion degree and its relationship with the vegetation attributes of two grassland communities in NW Patagonia
Keywords:
gaps, Festuca pallescens, Pappostipa speciosa, exotic perennial herb, semi-arid grasslandsAbstract
Rumex acetosella is an exotic perennial herb that invades grassland gaps (i.e., area between tussock grasses) at NW Patagonia. The aim of this study was to estimate the degree of invasion of R. acetosella and to relate cover fluctuations to gap vegetation characteristics in communities dominated by Pappostipa speciosa (ex Stipa speciosa) and communities dominated by Festuca pallescens. We randomly selected ten gaps at each community type and estimated R. acetosella seed production (2008, 2010, and 2011) and cover of all species (2008-2010). We compared three seasons with different meteorological conditions. Rumex acetosella was present in 98% of the studied gaps and was the dominant species. Regeneration of R. acetosella was originated from resprouting rhizomes, despite the abundant seed production (2660-6900 seeds/m2). Rumex acetosella showed greater invasion in gaps from P. speciosa communities that in those from communities dominated by F. pallescens. Lower richness in the former, may limit interspecific interactions, which could benefit R. acetosella. Annual herbs were particularly affected by drought and by the increase in R. acetosella cover. The marked fluctuations in the dominant exotic species cover and in the meteorological conditions produced notable changes on the attributes of gap vegetation.
References
AGUIAR, MR. 2005. Biodiversity in grasslands: current changes and scenarios for the future. Pp. 273-293 en: Reynolds, S & J Frame (eds.). Grasslands: Developments, Opportunities, Perspectives. Food and Agricultural Organization.
ANCHORENA, J & A CINGOLANI. 2002. Identifying habitat types in a disturbed area of the forest-steppe ecotone of Patagonia. Plant Ecol., 158:97-112.
BRAN, D; G SIFFREDI; J AYESA; C LÓPEZ; F UMAÑA; ET AL. 2006. Evaluación del estado de los recursos forrajeros de la estancia San Ramón. Comunicación Técnica No 106. ISSN 1667-4014. INTA EEA Bariloche.
BULLOCK, JM. 2000. Gaps and seedling colonization. Pp. 375-395 en: Fenner, M (ed.). Seeds: The Ecology of Regeneration in Plant Communities. CABI.
CABRERA, AL. 1971. Regiones fi togeográfi cas argentinas. Ed. ACME. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
CHESSON, P; RLE GEBAUER, S SHWINNING, N HUNTLY, K WIEGAND; ET AL. 2004. Resource pulses, species interactions, and diversity maintenance in arid and semi-arid environments. Oecologia, 141:236-253.
CORREA, MN. 1984. Flora Patagónica. Parte IVb. Dicotyledoneae: Dialipétalas (Droseraceae a Leguminosae). Colección Científi ca del INTA. Tomo VIII. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
DAVIES, KF; P CHESSON; S HARRISON; BD INOUYE; BA MELBOURNE; ET AL. 2005. Spatial heterogeneity explains the scale dependence of the native–exotic diversity relationship. Ecology, 86:1602-1610.
DEFOSSÉ, GE; R ROBBERECHT & MB BERTILLER. 1997. Seedling dynamics of Festuca spp. in a grassland of Patagonia, Argentina, as affected by competition, microsites, and grazing. J. Range. Manage., 50:73-79.
FAN, J. 1996. Effects of soil fertility level and cutting frequency on interference among Hieracium pilosella, H. praealtum, Rumex acetosella, and Festuca novae-zelandiae. New Zeal. J. Agr. Res., 39:1-32.
FENNER, M & K THOMPSON. 2005. The ecology of seeds. Cambridge University Press.
FEINSINGER, P. 2001. Designing fi eld studies for biodiversity conservation. The Nature Conservancy.
FRANZESE, J. 2012. Impacto de Rumex acetosella L. (Polygonaceae) en los pastizales del noroeste de la Patagonia y su relación con el fuego. Tesis doctoral. Universidad Nacional del Comahue.
FRANZESE, J & L GHERMANDI. 2011. Seed longevity and fire: germination responses of an exotic perennial herb in NW Patagonian grasslands (Argentina). Plant Biology, 13:865-871.
GAITÁN, J; C LÓPEZ & D BRAN. 2011. Vegetation composition and its relationship with the environment in mallines of north Patagonia, Argentina. Wetl. Ecol. Manag., 19:121-130.
GAITÁN, J; C LÓPEZ; J AYESA; D BRAN & F UMAÑA. 2004. Características y distribución espacial de los paisajes y los suelos del área Bariloche-Comallo. Informe técnico. INTA EEA Bariloche.
GHERMANDI, L. 1992. Caracterización del banco de semillas de una estepa en el noroeste de Patagonia. Ecología Austral, 2:39-46.
GHERMANDI, L. 1997. Seasonal patterns in the seed bank of a grassland in north-western Patagonia. J. Arid Environ., 35:215-224.
GHERMANDI, L & S GONZÁLEZ. 2009. Diversity and functional groups dynamics affected by drought and fire in Patagonian grasslands. Ecoscience, 16:408-417.
GIBSON, DJ. 2009. Grasses and grassland ecology. Oxford University Press.
GOBBI, M; J PUNTIERI & S CALVELO. 1995. Post-fire recovery and invasion by alien plant species in a South American woodland-steppe ecotone. Pp. 105-115 en: Pyšek, P; K PRACH; M REJMÁNEK & M WADE (eds.). Plant Invasions: General Aspects and Special and Special Problems. Amsterdam, Netherlands: SPB Academic Publishing.
GODAGNONE, R & D BRAN. 2009. Inventario integrado de los recursos naturales de la Provincia de Río Negro: geología, hidrogeología, geomorfología, suelo, clima, vegetación y fauna. Ediciones INTA.
GONZÁLEZ, S & L GHERMANDI. 2008. Postfire seed bank dynamics in semiarid grasslands. Plant Ecol., 199:175-185.
HOUSSARD, C & J ECARRÉ. 1991. The effects of seed weight on growth and competitive ability of Rumex acetosella from two successional old-fi elds. Oecologia, 86:236-242.
HUBER, UJ & V MARKGRAF. 2003. European impact on fire regimes and vegetation dynamics at the steppe-forest ecotone of southern Patagonia. The Holocene, 13:567-579.
IPANE. 2009. Invasive Plant Atlas of New England: nbii-nin.ciesin.columbia.edu/ipane/icat/browse.do?specieId=101#description.
LENZ, TI; JL MOYLE-CROFT & JM FACELLI. 2003. Direct and indirect effects of exotic annual grasses on species composition of a South Australian grassland. Austral Ecol., 28:23-32.
LEÓN, RJC & MR AGUIAR. 1985. El deterioro por uso pastoril en estepas herbáceas patagónicas. Phytocoenología, 13:181-196.
LOCKWOOD, M; MF HOOPES & M MARCHETTI. 2007. Establishment success: the influence of biotic interactions. Pp. 107-131 en: Invasion ecology. Blackwell Publishing.
MARZOCCA, A. 1957. Manual de malezas plantas indeseables, perjudiciales o cuyos frutos o semillas son impurezas de los granos de cereales, oleaginosas y forrajeras, y que crecen en la Argentina, principalmente en la región pampeana. CONI. Buenos Aires.
MEINERS, SJ; ML CADENASSO & STA PICKETT. 2004. Beyond biodiversity: individualistic controls of invasion in a self-assembled community. Ecol. Lett., 7:121-126.
MILBAU, A; I NIJS, F DE RAEDEMAECKER, D REHEUL & B DE CAUWER. 2005. Invasion in grassland gaps: the role of neighbourhood richness, light availability and species complementarity during two successive years. Funct. Ecol., 19:27-37.
NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER. 2011. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Climate of 2011. Florida Wild Fires and Climate Extremes. Asheville, NC: www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html.
PAKEMAN, RJ; JP ATTWOOD & J ENGELEN. 1998. Sources of plants colonizing experimentally disturbed patches in an acidic grassland, in eastern England. J. Ecol., 86:1032-1041.
PARUELO, J; A BELTRÁN, E JOBBÁGY, O SALA & R GOLLUSCIo. 1998. The Climate of Patagonia: general patterns and controls on biotic processes. Ecología Austral, 8:85-101.
PUTWAIN; PD; D MACHIN & JL HARPER. 1968. Studies in the dynamics of plant populations: II. components and regulation of a natural population of Rumex acetosella L. J. Ecol., 56:421-431.
SCHUTZENHOFER, MR & TJ VALONE. 2006. Positive and negative effects of exotic Erodium cicutarium on an arid ecosystem. Biol. Conserv., 132:376-381.
SPECIALE, KL & C EZCURRA. 2011. Patterns of alien plant invasions in northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. J. Arid Environ., doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.04.014.
TILMAN, D. 1997. Community invasibility, recruitment limitation, and grassland biodiversity. Ecology, 78:81-92.
THOMPSON, K; JP BAKKER & RN BEKKER. 1997. The soil seed banks of North West Europe: methodology, density and longevity. Cambridge University Press.
THOMPSON, K & JP GRIME. 1979. Seasonal variation in the seed banks of herbaceous species in ten contrasting habitats. J. Ecol., 67:893-921.
US FOREST SERVICE. 2011: www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/forb/rumace/all.html#INTRODUCTORY
VELASCO, V & G SIFFREDI. 2009. Guía para el reconocimiento de especies de los pastizales de sierras y mesetas occidentales de Patagonia. Ediciones INTA.
WHITE, R; S MURRAY & M ROHWEDER. 2000. Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems: Grassland Ecosystems. Washington, D.C.: World Resources Institute.
WHITTAKER, RH. 1965. Dominance and diversity in land plant communities. Science, 147:250-260.
WILSON, SD & D TILMAN. 1991. Interactive effects of fertilization and disturbance on community structure and resource availability in an old-field plant community. Oecologia, 88:61-71.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Jorgelina Franzese, Luciana Ghermandi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Authors retain their rights as follows: 1) by granting the journal the right to its first publication, and 2) by registering the published article with a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which allows authors and third parties to view and use it as long as they clearly mention its origin (citation or reference, including authorship and first publication in this journal). Authors can make other non-exclusive distribution agreements as long as they clearly indicate their origin and are encouraged to widely share and disseminate the published version of their work.
