Register      Login
Australian Journal of Botany Australian Journal of Botany Society
Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Plant traits predict impact of invading species: an analysis of herbaceous vegetation in the subtropics

S. McIntyre A B , T. G. Martin A , K. M. Heard A and J. Kinloch A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Queensland Bioscience Precinct, 306 Carmody Rd, St Lucia, Qld, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Current address: CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, GPO Box 284, Canberra, ACT 2601. Email: Sue.McIntyre@csiro.au

Australian Journal of Botany 53(8) 757-770 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT05088
Submitted: 16 May 2005  Accepted: 11 October 2005   Published: 14 December 2005

Abstract

The need to predict potential invasion impact of plant species is important for setting weed-management priorities and determining quarantine restrictions for newly imported plant material. We analysed the naturalised plant component of a herbaceous plant community in sub-tropical eucalypt woodlands subjected to various disturbances associated with agricultural activities. The native and naturalised plant species did not differ in the proportions of different life forms, although life-history differed, with the naturalised group having more annual and biennial, and relatively fewer perennial species. We classified the naturalised assemblage into high- and low-impact species and compared the plant-trait and habitat characteristics of the two groups. Low-impact species covered a range of levels of habitat specialisation whereas high-impact species tended to have moderate to low levels of specialisation and to be less tolerant of grazing. Seven traits were found to be significantly associated with impact. Stepwise regression indicated a high level of redundancy in the data, owing to attributes being correlated. For all species, four attributes were significant in determining impact: very wide lateral spread, C4 photosynthesis, tall height and large leaves. For forbs, only two attributes (large seeds, adhesion/ingestion mode of seed dispersal) were significant in the overall model. We identified the following eight functional types amongst the naturalised species: (i) high-impact C4 lawn grasses, (ii) high-impact C4 bulky tussock grasses, (iii) moderate-impact annual grasses, (iv) moderate-impact tall annual forbs, (v) moderate-impact spreading forbs, (vi) moderate-impact woody forbs, (vii) low-impact legumes and (viii) low-impact small ruderals. In the subtropical woodland environment perennial C4 grasses appear to present the greatest invasive threat to herbaceous native communities, whereas forbs of wide lateral spread, with large animal-dispersed seeds are also problematic. The results support a case for limiting further importation of horticultural and forage material into Australia.


Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Weed Management CRC (Project 1.2.2). Dane Panetta, Gabrielle Vivian-Smith and Graeme Hastwell contributed to the development of the project. Thanks go to David Doley for assistance with photosynthetic pathway allocations. Thanks also go to the Parton family for access to their properties for sampling.


References


Baker, HG (1965). Characteristics and modes of origin of weeds. In ‘The genetics of colonizing species’. pp. 147–168. (Academic Press: New York and London)

Barnard, C (1964). ‘Grasses and grasslands.’ (Macmillan: London)

Batianoff GN, Butler DW (2002) Assessment of invasive naturalised plants in southeast Queensland. Plant Protection Quarterly 17, 27–34. open url image1

Batianoff GN, Butler DW (2003) Impact assessment and analysis of sixty-six priority invasive weeds in southeast Queensland. Plant Protection Quarterly 18, 11–17. open url image1

Belbin, L (1995). ‘PATN technical reference.’ (CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology: Canberra)

Cornelissen JHC, Lavorel S, Garnier E, Díaz S, Buchmann N, Gurvich DE, Reich PB, ter Steege H, Morgan HD, van der Heijden M, Pausas JG, Poorter H (2003) A handbook of protocols for standardised and easy measurement of plant functional traits worldwide. Australian Journal of Botany 51, 335–380.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Downtown WJS (1975) The occurrence of C4 photosynthesis among plants. Photosynthetica 9, 96–105. open url image1

Eyles, AG , Cameron, DG ,  and  Hacker, JB (1985). ‘Pasture research in Australia – its history, achievements and future emphasis.’ (CSIRO Division of Tropical Crops and Pasture: Brisbane)

Garnier E, Shipley B, Roumet C, Laurent G (2001) A standardized protocol for the determination of specific leaf area and leaf dry matter content. Functional Ecology 15, 688–695.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Grime, JP , Hodgson, JG ,  and  Hunt, R (1990). ‘The abridged comparative plant ecology.’ (Unwin Hyman: London)

Grotkopp E, Rejmánek M, Rost TL (2002) Toward a causal explanation of plant invasiveness: seedling growth and life-history strategies of 29 pine (Pinus) species. American Naturalist 159, 396–419.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Hamilton MA, Murray BR, Cadotte MW, Hose GC, Baker AC, Harris CJ, Licari D (2005) Life-history correlates of plant invasiveness at regional and continental scales. Ecology Letters 8, 1066–1074.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Herrera J (2005) Phenotypic correlations among plant parts in Iberian Papilionoideae (Fabaceae). Annals of Botany 95, 345–350.
PubMed |
open url image1

Holzner, W ,  and  Numata, M (1982). ‘Biology and ecology of weeds.’ (Junk: The Hague)

Hutchinson, MF , Belbin, L , Nicholls, AO , Nix, HA , McMahon, JP ,  and  Ord, KD (1996). ‘BioRap—rapid assessment of biodiversity: Vol. 2: Spatial modelling tools.’ (CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology: Canberra)

Kolar CS, Lodge DM (2001) Progress in invasion biology: predicting invaders. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 16, 199–204.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Lake JC, Leishman MR (2004) Invasion success of exotic plants in natural ecosystems: the role of disturbance, plant attributes and freedom from herbivores. Biological Conservation 117, 215–226.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Lonsdale WM (1994) Inviting trouble: introduced pasture species in northern Australia. Australian Journal of Ecology 19, 345–354. open url image1

Mack RN, Simberloff D, Lonsdale WM, Evans H, Clout M, Bazzaz FA (2000) Biotic invasions: causes, epidemiology, global consequences, and control. Ecological Applications 10, 689–710. open url image1

McIntyre S, Martin TG (2001) Biophysical and human influences on plant species richness in grasslands—comparing variegated landscapes in sub-tropical and temperate regions. Austral Ecology 26, 233–245.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

McIntyre S, Martin TG (2002) Managing intensive and extensive land uses to conserve grassland plants in eucalypt woodlands. Biological Conservation 107, 241–252.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

McIntyre S, Lavorel S (2001) Livestock grazing in sub-tropical pastures: steps in the analysis of attribute response and plant functional types. Journal of Ecology 89, 209–226.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

McIntyre S, Lavorel S, Landsberg J, Forbes TDA (1999) Disturbance response in vegetation—towards a global perspective on functional traits. Journal of Vegetation Science 10, 621–630. open url image1

McIntyre S, Heard KM, Martin TG (2002) How grassland plants are distributed over five human-created habitats typical of eucalypt woodlands in a variegated landscape. Pacific Conservation Biology 7, 274–285. open url image1

McIntyre S, Heard KM, Martin TG (2003) The relative importance of cattle grazing in sub-tropical grasslands—does it reduce or enhance plant biodiversity? Journal of Applied Ecology 40, 445–457.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Panetta FD, Sparkes EC (2001) Reinvasion of a riparian forest community by an animal-dispersed tree weed following control measures. Biological Invasions 3, 75–88.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Parker IM, Simberloff D, Lonsdale WM, Goodell K, Wonham M, Kareiva PM, Williamson MH, Von Holle B, Moyle PB, Byers JE, Goldwasser L (1999) Impact: toward a framework for understanding the ecological effects of invaders. Biological Invasions 1, 3–19.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Parsons, WT ,  and  Cuthbertson, EG (1992). ‘Noxious weeds of Australia.’ (Inkata Press: Melbourne)

Peter G, Katinas L (2003) A new type of Kranz anatomy in Asteraceae. Australian Journal of Botany 51, 217–226.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Rejmánek M (1996) A theory of seed plant invasiveness: the first sketch. Biological Conservation 78, 171–181.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Rejmánek M (2000) Invasive plants: approaches and predictions. Austral Ecology 25, 497–506.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Rejmánek M, Richardson DM (1996) What attributes make some plant species more invasive? Ecology 77, 1655–1661. open url image1

Sage, RF ,  and  Monson, RK (1999). ‘C4 plant biology.’ (Academic Press: San Diego, CA)

Sayed OH (2001) Crassulacean acid metabolism 1975–2000, a check list. Photosynthetica 39, 339–352.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Sokal, RR ,  and  Rohlf, FJ (1981). ‘Biometry.’ 2nd edn. (Freeman: New York)

Stanley, TD ,  and  Ross, EM (1983). ‘Flora of southeastern Queensland. Vols 1–3.’ (Queensland Department of Primary Industries: Brisbane)

Stanley, TD ,  and  Ross, EM (1986). ‘Flora of southeastern Queensland. Vols 1–3.’ (Queensland Department of Primary Industries: Brisbane)

Stanley, TD ,  and  Ross, EM (1989). ‘Flora of southeastern Queensland. Vols 1–3.’ (Queensland Department of Primary Industries: Brisbane)

Sutherland S (2004) What makes a weed a weed: life history traits of native and exotic plants in the USA. Oecologia 141, 24–39.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Thompson K, Hodgson JG, Rich TCG (1995) Native and alien invasive plants: more of the same? Ecography 18, 390–402. open url image1

Waller SS, Lewis JK (1979) Occurrence of C3 and C4 photosynthetic pathways in North American grasses. Journal of Range Management 32, 12–28. open url image1

Westoby M, Falster DS, Moles AT, Vesk PA, Wright IJ (2002) Plant ecological strategies: some leading dimensions of variation between species. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 33, 125–159.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Williamson M (1999) Invasions. Ecography 22, 5–12. open url image1

Williamson MH, Fitter A (1996) The characters of successful invaders. Biological Conservation 78, 163–170.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Wilson, B (1968). ‘Pasture improvement in Australia.’ (Murray: Sydney)

Zar, JH (1984). ‘Biostatistical analysis.’ (Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ)










Appendix 1.  Species sorted by group membership derived from agglomerative hierarchical fusion with flexible unweighted pair group arithmetic averaging
Growth form: 1 = rhizomatous/stoloniferous, 2 = tussock grass or sedge, 3 = erect forbs, 4 = scrambling or mat forbs, 5 = rosette/partial rosette forbs; life-form: 1 = therophyte (annuals and biennials), 2 = hemicryptophyte, 3 = chamaephyte (defined in Cornelissen et al. 2003); height: 1 = <20 cm, 2 = 20–40 cm, 3 = > 40 cm; lateral spread: (cm) 1 = <10, 2 = 11–25 cm, 3 = 26–100, 4 = > 100; above-ground cover density: 1 = low, 2 = moderate, 3 = high (density of above-ground biomass in the projected canopy area, McIntyre et al. 1999); growth season: 1 = summer, 2 = year-round; photosynthetic pathway: 1 = C3, 2 = C4 (from published sources Downtown 1975; Waller and Lewis 1979; Sage and Monson 1999; Sayed 2001; Peter and Katinas 2003); dispersal mode: 1 = undefined, 2 = wind (pappus or equivalent structure), 3 = adhesion/ingestion, 4 = mobile (<0.3 mg)
A1