Fast but steady: An integrated leaf‐stem‐root trait syndrome for woody forest invaders

Successful control and prevention of biological invasions depend on identifying traits of non‐native species that promote fitness advantages in competition with native species. Here, we show that, among 76 native and non‐native woody plants of deciduous forests of North America, invaders express a u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology letters 2022-04, Vol.25 (4), p.900-912
Main Authors: Fridley, Jason D., Bauerle, Taryn L., Craddock, Alaä, Ebert, Alex R., Frank, Douglas A., Heberling, J. Mason, Hinman, Elise D., Jo, Insu, Martinez, Kelsey A., Smith, Maria S., Woolhiser, Lauren J., Yin, Jingjing, Rejmanek, Marcel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon - metabolism
Deciduous forests
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
forest dynamics
Forests
growth‐survival trade‐off
Indigenous species
Introduced Species
invasion risk assessment
invasion success
Invasions
Invasive species
leaf phenology
Leaves
Life span
Metabolic rate
Native species
Plant Leaves
Risk assessment
Trees - genetics
Woody plants
Xylem
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Summary:Successful control and prevention of biological invasions depend on identifying traits of non‐native species that promote fitness advantages in competition with native species. Here, we show that, among 76 native and non‐native woody plants of deciduous forests of North America, invaders express a unique functional syndrome that combines high metabolic rate with robust leaves of longer lifespan and a greater duration of annual carbon gain, behaviours enabled by seasonally plastic xylem structure and rapid production of thin roots. This trait combination was absent in all native species examined and suggests the success of forest invaders is driven by a novel resource‐use strategy. Furthermore, two traits alone—annual leaf duration and nuclear DNA content—separated native and invasive species with 93% accuracy, supporting the use of functional traits in invader risk assessments. A trait syndrome reflecting both fast growth capacity and understorey persistence may be a key driver of forest invasions. We show that non‐native, invasive woody plants of North American deciduous forests express a unique functional syndrome combining traits associated with both high growth potential and high shade tolerance. This syndrome was absent in all native species examined and involves an integrated growth strategy reflecting leaf, stem and root traits.
ISSN:1461-023X
1461-0248
DOI:10.1111/ele.13967