Limited natural regeneration of unique Scalesia forest following invasive plant removal in Galapagos.

More than 60% of the flora of the Galapagos Islands is introduced and some of these species have become invasive, severely altering ecosystems. An example of an affected ecosystem is the Scalesia forest, originally dominated by the endemic giant daisy tree Scalesia pedunculata (Asteraceae). The remn...

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Autores principales:	Anna Walentowitz, Michael Manthey, María Belén Bentet Preciado, Rafael Chango, Christian Sevilla, Heinke Jäger
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/bd75581fa4224041bf59297e393f205f
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:bd75581fa4224041bf59297e393f205f2021-12-02T20:19:15ZLimited natural regeneration of unique Scalesia forest following invasive plant removal in Galapagos.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0258467https://doaj.org/article/bd75581fa4224041bf59297e393f205f2021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258467https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203More than 60% of the flora of the Galapagos Islands is introduced and some of these species have become invasive, severely altering ecosystems. An example of an affected ecosystem is the Scalesia forest, originally dominated by the endemic giant daisy tree Scalesia pedunculata (Asteraceae). The remnant patches of this unique forest are increasingly being invaded by introduced plants, mainly by Rubus niveus (blackberry, Rosaceae). To help large-scale restoration of this ecologically important forest, we seek to better understand the natural regeneration of S. pedunculata after invasive plant control. We monitored naturally recruited S. pedunculata saplings and young trees over five years in an area where invasive plant species are continuously being removed by manual means. We measured survival, height and growth of S. pedunculata saplings and young trees along permanent transects. Percent cover of surrounding plant species and of canopy shade directly above each S. pedunculata individual were determined, as well as distance to the next mature S. pedunculata tree. We identified potential factors influencing initial sapling survival and growth by applying generalized linear models. Results showed a rapid growth of saplings and young trees of up to 0.45 cm per day and a high mortality rate, as is typical for pioneer species like S. pedunculata. Sapling survival, growth and mortality seemed to be influenced by light availability, surrounding vegetation and distance to the next adult S. pedunculata tree. We concluded that natural regeneration of S. pedunculata was high only five months after the last herbicide application but that 95% of these recruits had died over the 5-year period. Further studies are needed to corroborate whether the number of surviving trees is sufficient to replace the aging adult trees and this way maintain remnants of the Scalesia forest. Urgent action is needed to help improve future restoration strategies to prevent further degradation of this rapidly shrinking threatened forest ecosystem.Anna WalentowitzMichael MantheyMaría Belén Bentet PreciadoRafael ChangoChristian SevillaHeinke JägerPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 10, p e0258467 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Anna Walentowitz Michael Manthey María Belén Bentet Preciado Rafael Chango Christian Sevilla Heinke Jäger Limited natural regeneration of unique Scalesia forest following invasive plant removal in Galapagos.
description	More than 60% of the flora of the Galapagos Islands is introduced and some of these species have become invasive, severely altering ecosystems. An example of an affected ecosystem is the Scalesia forest, originally dominated by the endemic giant daisy tree Scalesia pedunculata (Asteraceae). The remnant patches of this unique forest are increasingly being invaded by introduced plants, mainly by Rubus niveus (blackberry, Rosaceae). To help large-scale restoration of this ecologically important forest, we seek to better understand the natural regeneration of S. pedunculata after invasive plant control. We monitored naturally recruited S. pedunculata saplings and young trees over five years in an area where invasive plant species are continuously being removed by manual means. We measured survival, height and growth of S. pedunculata saplings and young trees along permanent transects. Percent cover of surrounding plant species and of canopy shade directly above each S. pedunculata individual were determined, as well as distance to the next mature S. pedunculata tree. We identified potential factors influencing initial sapling survival and growth by applying generalized linear models. Results showed a rapid growth of saplings and young trees of up to 0.45 cm per day and a high mortality rate, as is typical for pioneer species like S. pedunculata. Sapling survival, growth and mortality seemed to be influenced by light availability, surrounding vegetation and distance to the next adult S. pedunculata tree. We concluded that natural regeneration of S. pedunculata was high only five months after the last herbicide application but that 95% of these recruits had died over the 5-year period. Further studies are needed to corroborate whether the number of surviving trees is sufficient to replace the aging adult trees and this way maintain remnants of the Scalesia forest. Urgent action is needed to help improve future restoration strategies to prevent further degradation of this rapidly shrinking threatened forest ecosystem.
format	article
author	Anna Walentowitz Michael Manthey María Belén Bentet Preciado Rafael Chango Christian Sevilla Heinke Jäger
author_facet	Anna Walentowitz Michael Manthey María Belén Bentet Preciado Rafael Chango Christian Sevilla Heinke Jäger
author_sort	Anna Walentowitz
title	Limited natural regeneration of unique Scalesia forest following invasive plant removal in Galapagos.
title_short	Limited natural regeneration of unique Scalesia forest following invasive plant removal in Galapagos.
title_full	Limited natural regeneration of unique Scalesia forest following invasive plant removal in Galapagos.
title_fullStr	Limited natural regeneration of unique Scalesia forest following invasive plant removal in Galapagos.
title_full_unstemmed	Limited natural regeneration of unique Scalesia forest following invasive plant removal in Galapagos.
title_sort	limited natural regeneration of unique scalesia forest following invasive plant removal in galapagos.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/bd75581fa4224041bf59297e393f205f
work_keys_str_mv	AT annawalentowitz limitednaturalregenerationofuniquescalesiaforestfollowinginvasiveplantremovalingalapagos AT michaelmanthey limitednaturalregenerationofuniquescalesiaforestfollowinginvasiveplantremovalingalapagos AT mariabelenbentetpreciado limitednaturalregenerationofuniquescalesiaforestfollowinginvasiveplantremovalingalapagos AT rafaelchango limitednaturalregenerationofuniquescalesiaforestfollowinginvasiveplantremovalingalapagos AT christiansevilla limitednaturalregenerationofuniquescalesiaforestfollowinginvasiveplantremovalingalapagos AT heinkejager limitednaturalregenerationofuniquescalesiaforestfollowinginvasiveplantremovalingalapagos
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Limited natural regeneration of unique Scalesia forest following invasive plant removal in Galapagos.

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