Weed communities of rain-fed lowland rice vary with infestation by Rhamphicarpa fistulosa

The facultative hemiparasitic plant Rhamphicarpa fistulosa (Orobanchaceae) thrives in seasonally wet soils in sub-Saharan Africa, mainly in marginal lowland rice growing environments where weeds are already a major constraint for rice production. Because lowland rice production is increasing in trop...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta oecologica (Montrouge) 2016-11, Vol.77, p.85-90
Main Authors: Houngbédji, Tossimidé, Dessaint, Fabrice, Nicolardot, Bernard, Shykoff, Jacqui A., Gibot-Leclerc, Stéphanie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agroecology
Hemiparasite
Life Sciences
Orobanchaceae
Parasitic plant
Species diversity
Sub-Saharan Africa
Weed plant community structure
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The facultative hemiparasitic plant Rhamphicarpa fistulosa (Orobanchaceae) thrives in seasonally wet soils in sub-Saharan Africa, mainly in marginal lowland rice growing environments where weeds are already a major constraint for rice production. Because lowland rice production is increasing in tropical Africa, it is important to ascertain the influence of R. fistulosa on weed plant communities in these rice-growing habitats. We investigated weed plant community richness and composition at four different levels of R. fistulosa infestation across two years of surveys from lowland rice fields in northern Togo (West Africa). Despite a lack of significant differences in community richness among sites with different R. fistulosa infestation levels, there were significant differences in community composition, both when estimated from presence-absence data and from relative abundance data, after controlling statistically for geographic proximity among sites. Rhamphicarpa fistulosa infestation, therefore, may influence the competitive balance between rice and its weeds and shape weed community structure. However, experimental studies are required to elucidate the weed host range of R. fistulosa and the direct and indirect effects of this hemiparasite in rice fields in order to predict its net impact on rice and its weed species. •Weed communities of lowland rice in northern Togo varied with geographic position and R. fistulosa infestation.•Nearby sites had more similar weed communities, but communities also varied at different R. fistulosa infestation levels.•R. fistulosa may be a community engineer, modifying weed communities through altered competition among species.
ISSN:1146-609X
1873-6238
DOI:10.1016/j.actao.2016.09.004