Habitat type and community age as barriers to alien plant invasions in coastal species-habitat networks
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Habitat type and community age as barriers to alien plant invasions in coastal species-habitat networks. / Lami, Francesco; Vitti, Stefano; Marini, Lorenzo; Pellegrini, Elisa; Casolo, Valentino; Trotta, Giacomo; Sigura, Maurizia; Boscutti, Francesco.
In: Ecological Indicators, Vol. 133, 108450, 2021.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Habitat type and community age as barriers to alien plant invasions in coastal species-habitat networks
AU - Lami, Francesco
AU - Vitti, Stefano
AU - Marini, Lorenzo
AU - Pellegrini, Elisa
AU - Casolo, Valentino
AU - Trotta, Giacomo
AU - Sigura, Maurizia
AU - Boscutti, Francesco
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Sand shore ecosystems are extremely vulnerable to alien plant invasions. While most of the abiotic drivers of alien success have been identified, less is known on the role of biological processes driving the invasion. Studying the interactions between alien and native plant communities across different habitats and along the ecological succession (i.e. community maturity) can elucidate the dynamics of alien invasions in dune systems. In this study, we sampled alien and native plant communities in 100 patches across 10 natural coastal landscapes in NE Italy. The patches represented three main habitat types (foredune, backdune and salt marsh, which differ in terms of sea storm-related disturbance and soil salinity) distributed along a gradient of community maturity (i.e. number of years since the plant community was completely eroded by a sea storm). We analysed the effects of alien/native status, habitat type and maturity on species richness and colonization potential of plant species pools. Colonization potential was estimated by applying for the first time on plant data a species-habitat network approach, which allowed us to assess in detail the effect of each plant community on the others. In backdune habitats, alien plant species richness was negatively related with community maturity, which in turn had a positive effect on native species richness. Colonization potential was positively influenced by age for native communities and negatively for alien communities in salt marshes. Among habitat types, backdune patches were also particularly prone to alien invasions and very efficient donors of alien plants to other patches. Salt marshes were in general very resistant to invasion but potentially acting as secondary reservoirs for some backdune alien species. This study identified backdune habitats as key nodes for alien plant introduction and spread in coastal ecosystems, underlining the importance of maintaining mature undisturbed patches as a barrier to alien invasions. This information could prove pivotal in optimizing monitoring and management efforts of alien plant species in these ecosystems, as well as in conservation prioritization.
AB - Sand shore ecosystems are extremely vulnerable to alien plant invasions. While most of the abiotic drivers of alien success have been identified, less is known on the role of biological processes driving the invasion. Studying the interactions between alien and native plant communities across different habitats and along the ecological succession (i.e. community maturity) can elucidate the dynamics of alien invasions in dune systems. In this study, we sampled alien and native plant communities in 100 patches across 10 natural coastal landscapes in NE Italy. The patches represented three main habitat types (foredune, backdune and salt marsh, which differ in terms of sea storm-related disturbance and soil salinity) distributed along a gradient of community maturity (i.e. number of years since the plant community was completely eroded by a sea storm). We analysed the effects of alien/native status, habitat type and maturity on species richness and colonization potential of plant species pools. Colonization potential was estimated by applying for the first time on plant data a species-habitat network approach, which allowed us to assess in detail the effect of each plant community on the others. In backdune habitats, alien plant species richness was negatively related with community maturity, which in turn had a positive effect on native species richness. Colonization potential was positively influenced by age for native communities and negatively for alien communities in salt marshes. Among habitat types, backdune patches were also particularly prone to alien invasions and very efficient donors of alien plants to other patches. Salt marshes were in general very resistant to invasion but potentially acting as secondary reservoirs for some backdune alien species. This study identified backdune habitats as key nodes for alien plant introduction and spread in coastal ecosystems, underlining the importance of maintaining mature undisturbed patches as a barrier to alien invasions. This information could prove pivotal in optimizing monitoring and management efforts of alien plant species in these ecosystems, as well as in conservation prioritization.
KW - Backdune
KW - Exotic species
KW - Invasion ecology
KW - Plant succession
KW - Salt marshes
KW - Sand dunes
U2 - 10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108450
DO - 10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108450
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85121004038
VL - 133
JO - Ecological Indicators
JF - Ecological Indicators
SN - 1470-160X
M1 - 108450
ER -
ID: 288923527