Wild cherries invading natural grasslands: unraveling colonization history from population structure and spatial patterns

• Published in: Plant ecology Vol. 214; no. 11; pp. 1299 - 1307
• Main Authors: Amodeo, Martín Raúl, Zalba, Sergio Martín
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer 01-11-2013; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Age structure; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied Ecology; Biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Birds; Colonization; Community & Population Ecology; Crop production; Ecology; Forestry; Fruits; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; Grasslands; Life Sciences; Plant Ecology; Plant populations; Planting density; Plants; Population density; Population growth; Population mean; Population structure; Prunus; Prunus mahaleb; Seed dispersal; Terrestial Ecology; Vegetative propagation. Micropropagation; Vegetative propagation. Sowing and planting. Harvesting; Woody plants; Biological invasions; Leslie matrix; Seed dispersal; Age structure; Plant-animal interactions; Seeds; Rosaceae; Plant ecology; Population structure; Rootstock; Permanent grassland; Dispersion; Invasive species; Prunus mahaleb; Spatial distribution; Animal plant relation; Dicotyledones; Prunus avium; Angiospermae; Hardwood forest tree; Spermatophyta; Fruit tree; Colonization
• ISSN: 1385-0237; 1573-5052
• DOI: 10.1007/s11258-013-0252-4

Invasive success of many fleshy-fruited plants has been linked to opportunistic interactions with generalist frugivores. Prunus mahaleb is a small tree, producing large quantities of little, bright black, sugary drupes that are consumed by vertebrates. It is native to the Mediterranean region but has become invasive in several countries. This study was carried out at a nature reserve including remnant mountain grasslands of high conservation value in the southern Argentine Pampas. Our aim is to reconstruct the colonization history of invading populations proposing a generalized model to describe the invasion process: colonization events result in the establishment of a founder tree followed by a lag phase until it reaches massive seed production and enables an increase in local recruitment and plant density. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed population age structures and contrasted them with those predicted using a Leslie matrix growth model. We found that matrix model predictions fit well to actual age structures. Our results reveal the existence of an 8–18-year lag period between the establishment of the founder tree and local effective recruitment. The end of this lag coincides with an abrupt increase in individual fruit production that may have a strong effect on bird attraction and successful seed dispersal. This lag phase represents an opportunity for preventing further spread of P. mahaleb. Early detection and rapid eradication of new invasion focuses should be targeted as a principal aim of an effective control strategy.