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Effects of canopy gap size on recruitment and invasion of the non-indigenous Rubus alceifolius in lowland tropical rain forest on Réunion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2008

Stéphane Baret ,
Laurent Cournac ,
Christophe Thébaud ,
Peter Edwards  and
Dominique Strasberg
Stéphane Baret*
Affiliation:
Peuplements Végétaux et Bioagresseurs en Milieu Tropical, UMR C53 CIRAD/Université, 7 chemin de l'Irat, Ligne Paradis, 97410 Saint-Pierre, la Réunion Conservatoire Botanique National de Mascarin, 2 rue du Père Georges F-97436 Saint-Leu, la Réunion, France
Laurent Cournac
Affiliation:
CEA Cadarache, DSV, IBEB, Laboratoire de Bioénergétique et Biotechnologie des Bactéries et Microalgues, UMR 6191, CEA, CNRS, Université de la Méditerranée, Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, F-13108France
Christophe Thébaud
Affiliation:
UMR 5174 CNRS/UPS ‘Evolution & Diversité Biologique’, Bât. 4R3-B2, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 4France
Peter Edwards
Affiliation:
Institute of Integrative Biology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Universitätsstrasse 16, ETH Zentrum, CHN, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
Dominique Strasberg
Affiliation:
Peuplements Végétaux et Bioagresseurs en Milieu Tropical, UMR C53 CIRAD/Université, 7 chemin de l'Irat, Ligne Paradis, 97410 Saint-Pierre, la Réunion
*
1Corresponding author. Email: sbaret@cbnm.org
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Abstract:

An important challenge of invasion biology is to understand how interactions between species traits and ecosystem properties enable alien species to become invasive at particular locations. We investigated how gap dynamics in a tropical rain forest on the island of Réunion affected the invasiveness of alien plants. In the 12 000-m2 study area, alien plants occupied 24.9% of the area of gaps, which represented 5.62% of the forest area, but only 0.8% of the understorey area. The most abundant invasive species was Rubus alceifolius, which formed dense, monospecific stands in the largest gaps (> 25 m2). Although plants could persist in the shade, a germination experiment revealed that canopy openings were essential for seedling establishment. A cyclone that struck the study area in 2002 caused a temporary thinning of the canopy, increasing light levels to above the threshold needed for germination of R. alceifolius and also stimulating the growth of established plants. We conclude that the ability of this and other alien species to colonize intact lowland tropical rain forest is strongly influenced by the prevailing gap dynamics. Because gaps are also essential for the regeneration of many native trees in our study area, there is a real danger of the forest being progressively degraded by alien plants. There are no simple solutions to controlling species such as Rubus alceifolius, but efforts should be focused mainly upon the larger gaps where the species are most invasive.

Keywords

canopy heterogeneitycyclonedisturbanceIndian OceaninvasioninvasibilityinvasivenessLeaf Area IndexMascarene archipelago
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , May 2008 , pp. 337 - 345
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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References

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