Closed-Canopy Tropical Forests of Hainan, (China) Are Resilient against Invasive Herbs and Shrubs

The successful establishment of many plants in tropical forests often depends on species-specific adaptations related to light availability and forest successional stage. Species that are present in early successional stages generally do not occur in later successional stages. In this study, we docu...

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Autores principales:	Xiaobo Yang, Long Li, Xiaobo Lv, Wenqi Luo, Donghai Li, Caiqun Liang, Alison K. S. Wee, Wenxing Long
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	light availability establishment success invasive plant species succession theory tropical rain forest Hainan island Plant ecology QK900-989
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/08aafa8748904bf4b1466e8a61eec4b7
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:08aafa8748904bf4b1466e8a61eec4b7
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:08aafa8748904bf4b1466e8a61eec4b72021-11-25T17:39:21ZClosed-Canopy Tropical Forests of Hainan, (China) Are Resilient against Invasive Herbs and Shrubs10.3390/f121115961999-4907https://doaj.org/article/08aafa8748904bf4b1466e8a61eec4b72021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/11/1596https://doaj.org/toc/1999-4907The successful establishment of many plants in tropical forests often depends on species-specific adaptations related to light availability and forest successional stage. Species that are present in early successional stages generally do not occur in later successional stages. In this study, we documented the diversity, distribution, and abundance of terrestrial invasive plants across the (sub)tropical island of Hainan, China, and tested the germination of specific invasive plants in forested environments. In 97 transects positioned randomly across the island, we found nine invasive herb and shrub species were present in all human-modified habitats but not in intact forest interiors. In separate forest-specific transects, we documented a sharp drop in the abundance of invasive plants >5 m into the forest. High numbers of invasive plant seeds germinated from the soil seed bank sampled at the forest edge, but very few seeds germinated from soil sampled any distance into the forest. Finally, in experiments with four focal invasive plant species, overall germination rates were low; and much lower in shaded sites compared to full gap sites. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that invasive herbs and shrubs do not yet form a serious threat to native species in the closed-canopy forests of Hainan.Xiaobo YangLong LiXiaobo LvWenqi LuoDonghai LiCaiqun LiangAlison K. S. WeeWenxing LongMDPI AGarticlelight availabilityestablishment successinvasive plant speciessuccession theorytropical rain forestHainan islandPlant ecologyQK900-989ENForests, Vol 12, Iss 1596, p 1596 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	light availability establishment success invasive plant species succession theory tropical rain forest Hainan island Plant ecology QK900-989
spellingShingle	light availability establishment success invasive plant species succession theory tropical rain forest Hainan island Plant ecology QK900-989 Xiaobo Yang Long Li Xiaobo Lv Wenqi Luo Donghai Li Caiqun Liang Alison K. S. Wee Wenxing Long Closed-Canopy Tropical Forests of Hainan, (China) Are Resilient against Invasive Herbs and Shrubs
description	The successful establishment of many plants in tropical forests often depends on species-specific adaptations related to light availability and forest successional stage. Species that are present in early successional stages generally do not occur in later successional stages. In this study, we documented the diversity, distribution, and abundance of terrestrial invasive plants across the (sub)tropical island of Hainan, China, and tested the germination of specific invasive plants in forested environments. In 97 transects positioned randomly across the island, we found nine invasive herb and shrub species were present in all human-modified habitats but not in intact forest interiors. In separate forest-specific transects, we documented a sharp drop in the abundance of invasive plants >5 m into the forest. High numbers of invasive plant seeds germinated from the soil seed bank sampled at the forest edge, but very few seeds germinated from soil sampled any distance into the forest. Finally, in experiments with four focal invasive plant species, overall germination rates were low; and much lower in shaded sites compared to full gap sites. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that invasive herbs and shrubs do not yet form a serious threat to native species in the closed-canopy forests of Hainan.
format	article
author	Xiaobo Yang Long Li Xiaobo Lv Wenqi Luo Donghai Li Caiqun Liang Alison K. S. Wee Wenxing Long
author_facet	Xiaobo Yang Long Li Xiaobo Lv Wenqi Luo Donghai Li Caiqun Liang Alison K. S. Wee Wenxing Long
author_sort	Xiaobo Yang
title	Closed-Canopy Tropical Forests of Hainan, (China) Are Resilient against Invasive Herbs and Shrubs
title_short	Closed-Canopy Tropical Forests of Hainan, (China) Are Resilient against Invasive Herbs and Shrubs
title_full	Closed-Canopy Tropical Forests of Hainan, (China) Are Resilient against Invasive Herbs and Shrubs
title_fullStr	Closed-Canopy Tropical Forests of Hainan, (China) Are Resilient against Invasive Herbs and Shrubs
title_full_unstemmed	Closed-Canopy Tropical Forests of Hainan, (China) Are Resilient against Invasive Herbs and Shrubs
title_sort	closed-canopy tropical forests of hainan, (china) are resilient against invasive herbs and shrubs
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/08aafa8748904bf4b1466e8a61eec4b7
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Closed-Canopy Tropical Forests of Hainan, (China) Are Resilient against Invasive Herbs and Shrubs

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