Are Iron-Rich Calcareous Mine Sites Easily Invaded by Invasive Plant Species?
Plant diversity in relatively harsh environments, such as metal-polluted areas tends to be relatively low. Invasive plants may invade harsh environments more easily than native plants. However, studies often find fewer invasive species in stressful edaphic habitats (such as serpentine soils). Those...
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/11/986 |
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| author | Jin-Hui Liu Justin S. H. Wan Susan Rutherford Ali Al-Namazi Hui Liu Zhi-Cong Dai Jian-Fan Sun Xiao-Qin Sun Dao-Lin Du |
| author_facet | Jin-Hui Liu Justin S. H. Wan Susan Rutherford Ali Al-Namazi Hui Liu Zhi-Cong Dai Jian-Fan Sun Xiao-Qin Sun Dao-Lin Du |
| author_sort | Jin-Hui Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plant diversity in relatively harsh environments, such as metal-polluted areas tends to be relatively low. Invasive plants may invade harsh environments more easily than native plants. However, studies often find fewer invasive species in stressful edaphic habitats (such as serpentine soils). Those examples may represent relatively extreme conditions. Moderately stressful habitats may be more invaded given the advantages of invasive plants. We surveyed the plant diversity in four site pairs across three seasons. Sites consist of abandoned mines and reference sites. The mine sites have calcareous soils with relatively high iron, basic pH, and lower nutrients than reference sites. Results: There were 153 plant species among the four site pairs. Around 80 and 66% of species in calcareous and reference sites were introduced species respectively. Diversity varied across seasons but tended to be lower in the mine sites. One of the mines was significantly more invaded. Across sites, the number of invasive species and their abundances was not different from that of native species. Invasive plants are as capable of invading moderately stressful calcareous sites as native species, with some sites tending to be even more invaded. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:23:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8454328e699546e1b0ec6afdbbbb7535 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:23:32Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-8454328e699546e1b0ec6afdbbbb75352023-11-24T08:06:17ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182022-11-01141198610.3390/d14110986Are Iron-Rich Calcareous Mine Sites Easily Invaded by Invasive Plant Species?Jin-Hui Liu0Justin S. H. Wan1Susan Rutherford2Ali Al-Namazi3Hui Liu4Zhi-Cong Dai5Jian-Fan Sun6Xiao-Qin Sun7Dao-Lin Du8Institute of Environment and Ecology, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaInstitute of Environment and Ecology, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaInstitute of Environment and Ecology, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaKing Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), P.O. Box 6086, Riyadh 11442, Saudi ArabiaInstitute of Environment and Ecology, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaInstitute of Environment and Ecology, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaInstitute of Environment and Ecology, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaInstitute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, ChinaInstitute of Environment and Ecology, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaPlant diversity in relatively harsh environments, such as metal-polluted areas tends to be relatively low. Invasive plants may invade harsh environments more easily than native plants. However, studies often find fewer invasive species in stressful edaphic habitats (such as serpentine soils). Those examples may represent relatively extreme conditions. Moderately stressful habitats may be more invaded given the advantages of invasive plants. We surveyed the plant diversity in four site pairs across three seasons. Sites consist of abandoned mines and reference sites. The mine sites have calcareous soils with relatively high iron, basic pH, and lower nutrients than reference sites. Results: There were 153 plant species among the four site pairs. Around 80 and 66% of species in calcareous and reference sites were introduced species respectively. Diversity varied across seasons but tended to be lower in the mine sites. One of the mines was significantly more invaded. Across sites, the number of invasive species and their abundances was not different from that of native species. Invasive plants are as capable of invading moderately stressful calcareous sites as native species, with some sites tending to be even more invaded.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/11/986plant diversityinvasibilityedaphicstressabundance |
| spellingShingle | Jin-Hui Liu Justin S. H. Wan Susan Rutherford Ali Al-Namazi Hui Liu Zhi-Cong Dai Jian-Fan Sun Xiao-Qin Sun Dao-Lin Du Are Iron-Rich Calcareous Mine Sites Easily Invaded by Invasive Plant Species? Diversity plant diversity invasibility edaphic stress abundance |
| title | Are Iron-Rich Calcareous Mine Sites Easily Invaded by Invasive Plant Species? |
| title_full | Are Iron-Rich Calcareous Mine Sites Easily Invaded by Invasive Plant Species? |
| title_fullStr | Are Iron-Rich Calcareous Mine Sites Easily Invaded by Invasive Plant Species? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are Iron-Rich Calcareous Mine Sites Easily Invaded by Invasive Plant Species? |
| title_short | Are Iron-Rich Calcareous Mine Sites Easily Invaded by Invasive Plant Species? |
| title_sort | are iron rich calcareous mine sites easily invaded by invasive plant species |
| topic | plant diversity invasibility edaphic stress abundance |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/11/986 |
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