Habitat Suitability and Establishment Limitations of a Problematic Liana

The US native liana, poison ivy ), responsible for contact dermatitis in humans, is a competitive weed with great potential for expansion in disturbed habitats. To facilitate a better understanding of this threat, we sought to evaluate habitat suitability, population demography, and biotic interacti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plants (Basel) 2021-01, Vol.10 (2), p.263
Main Authors: Dickinson, Christopher C, Jelesko, John G, Barney, Jacob N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomass
Biotic pressure
Contact dermatitis
deer
Demography
Forests
Habitat fragmentation
Habitats
Herbivores
Herbivory
Interiors
Native species
poison ivy
Seedlings
Seeds
Success
Toxicodendron radicans
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Summary:The US native liana, poison ivy ), responsible for contact dermatitis in humans, is a competitive weed with great potential for expansion in disturbed habitats. To facilitate a better understanding of this threat, we sought to evaluate habitat suitability, population demography, and biotic interactions of poison ivy, using a series of complementary field studies in the two habitats where it most commonly occurs-forest interiors and edges. Of the 2500 seeds planted across both habitats, poison ivy initially colonized forest interiors (32% emergence) at a higher rate than edge habitats (16.5% emergence). However, forest interior seedlings were less likely to survive (interior = 3; edge = 15), which might be attributed to herbivore pressure when the seedlings were smaller in the less competitive forest interior. Once established, the poison ivy seedlings appeared to be more tolerant of herbivory, except that of large grazers such as deer. The early life stage of seedling emergence, survival, and establishment are critical in poison ivy success, with biotic pressure, especially from plant competition and deer, limiting recruitment. A suitable habitat of this expanding native liana would increase with increasing forest fragmentation, but might be buffered by the expanding deer population.
ISSN:2223-7747
2223-7747
DOI:10.3390/plants10020263