Do Habitats Show a Different Invasibility Pattern by Alien Plant Species? A Test on a Wetland Protected Area
Biological invasions are deemed to be the second most important global driver of biodiversity loss, right behind habitat destruction and fragmentation. In this study, we aimed at testing if community invasibility, defined as the vulnerability to invasion of a community, could be associated with the...
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MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/7/267 |
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| author | Francesco Liccari Miris Castello Livio Poldini Alfredo Altobelli Enrico Tordoni Maurizia Sigura Giovanni Bacaro |
| author_facet | Francesco Liccari Miris Castello Livio Poldini Alfredo Altobelli Enrico Tordoni Maurizia Sigura Giovanni Bacaro |
| author_sort | Francesco Liccari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Biological invasions are deemed to be the second most important global driver of biodiversity loss, right behind habitat destruction and fragmentation. In this study, we aimed at testing if community invasibility, defined as the vulnerability to invasion of a community, could be associated with the characteristics of a given habitat, as described by the composition and structure of its native species. Based on a probabilistic sampling of the alien flora occurring in the temperate wetland Lake Doberdò (Friuli Venezia Giulia region, NE Italy) and using a null-model-based approach, the observed occurrence of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) within sampling units was randomized within habitats. While testing the degree of invasibility for each habitat within the wetland, our null hypothesis postulated that habitats are equally invaded by IAS, as IAS can spread homogeneously in the environment thanks to their plasticity in functional traits that makes them able to cope with different ecological conditions. The obtained results comparing observed IAS frequencies, abundance and richness to those obtained by the null model randomizations show that, for all habitats, invasion was selective. Specifically, a marked preference for habitats with an intermediate disturbance level, a high nutrients level and a medium-high light availability was observed, while an avoidance was detected for habitats characterized by lower levels of nutrients and light availability or extreme conditions caused by prolonged submersion. This method allows us to provide useful information using a simple-to-run simulation for the management of the IAS threat within protected areas. Moreover, the method allows us to infer important ecological characteristics leading to habitat invasion without sampling the environmental characteristic of the habitats, which is an expensive operation in terms of time and money. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:40:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d6274258e44d480c9cb43fa7c4670037 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:40:59Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-d6274258e44d480c9cb43fa7c46700372023-11-20T05:54:46ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182020-07-0112726710.3390/d12070267Do Habitats Show a Different Invasibility Pattern by Alien Plant Species? A Test on a Wetland Protected AreaFrancesco Liccari0Miris Castello1Livio Poldini2Alfredo Altobelli3Enrico Tordoni4Maurizia Sigura5Giovanni Bacaro6Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 10, 34127 Trieste, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 10, 34127 Trieste, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 10, 34127 Trieste, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 10, 34127 Trieste, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 10, 34127 Trieste, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Udine, Via delle Scienze 206, 33100 Udine, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 10, 34127 Trieste, ItalyBiological invasions are deemed to be the second most important global driver of biodiversity loss, right behind habitat destruction and fragmentation. In this study, we aimed at testing if community invasibility, defined as the vulnerability to invasion of a community, could be associated with the characteristics of a given habitat, as described by the composition and structure of its native species. Based on a probabilistic sampling of the alien flora occurring in the temperate wetland Lake Doberdò (Friuli Venezia Giulia region, NE Italy) and using a null-model-based approach, the observed occurrence of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) within sampling units was randomized within habitats. While testing the degree of invasibility for each habitat within the wetland, our null hypothesis postulated that habitats are equally invaded by IAS, as IAS can spread homogeneously in the environment thanks to their plasticity in functional traits that makes them able to cope with different ecological conditions. The obtained results comparing observed IAS frequencies, abundance and richness to those obtained by the null model randomizations show that, for all habitats, invasion was selective. Specifically, a marked preference for habitats with an intermediate disturbance level, a high nutrients level and a medium-high light availability was observed, while an avoidance was detected for habitats characterized by lower levels of nutrients and light availability or extreme conditions caused by prolonged submersion. This method allows us to provide useful information using a simple-to-run simulation for the management of the IAS threat within protected areas. Moreover, the method allows us to infer important ecological characteristics leading to habitat invasion without sampling the environmental characteristic of the habitats, which is an expensive operation in terms of time and money.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/7/267alien speciesbiodiversityLake DoberdòNatura 2000 Networkoccurrence probabilityrandomization |
| spellingShingle | Francesco Liccari Miris Castello Livio Poldini Alfredo Altobelli Enrico Tordoni Maurizia Sigura Giovanni Bacaro Do Habitats Show a Different Invasibility Pattern by Alien Plant Species? A Test on a Wetland Protected Area Diversity alien species biodiversity Lake Doberdò Natura 2000 Network occurrence probability randomization |
| title | Do Habitats Show a Different Invasibility Pattern by Alien Plant Species? A Test on a Wetland Protected Area |
| title_full | Do Habitats Show a Different Invasibility Pattern by Alien Plant Species? A Test on a Wetland Protected Area |
| title_fullStr | Do Habitats Show a Different Invasibility Pattern by Alien Plant Species? A Test on a Wetland Protected Area |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do Habitats Show a Different Invasibility Pattern by Alien Plant Species? A Test on a Wetland Protected Area |
| title_short | Do Habitats Show a Different Invasibility Pattern by Alien Plant Species? A Test on a Wetland Protected Area |
| title_sort | do habitats show a different invasibility pattern by alien plant species a test on a wetland protected area |
| topic | alien species biodiversity Lake Doberdò Natura 2000 Network occurrence probability randomization |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/7/267 |
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