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Invasion in grassland gaps: the role of neighbourhood richness, light availability and species complementarity during two successive years

  1. A. MILBAU1,*,
  2. I. NIJS1,
  3. F. DE RAEDEMAECKER1,
  4. D. REHEUL2,
  5. B. DE CAUWER2

Article first published online: 15 MAR 2005

DOI: 10.1111/j.0269-8463.2005.00939.x

Issue

Functional Ecology

Functional Ecology

Volume 19, Issue 1, pages 27–37, February 2005

Additional Information

How to Cite

MILBAU, A., NIJS, I., DE RAEDEMAECKER, F., REHEUL, D. and DE CAUWER, B. (2005), Invasion in grassland gaps: the role of neighbourhood richness, light availability and species complementarity during two successive years. Functional Ecology, 19: 27–37. doi: 10.1111/j.0269-8463.2005.00939.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium; and

  2. 2

    Department of Plant Production, Faculty of Agricultural and Applied Biological Sciences, University of Ghent, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium

* †Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ann.milbau@ua.ac.be

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 15 MAR 2005
  2. Article first published online: 15 MAR 2005
  3. Received 2 June 2004; revised 6 October 2004; accepted 14 October 2004

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Keywords:

  • complementary resource use;
  • diversity;
  • invader;
  • invasibility;
  • species richness

Summary

  • 1
    We examined how the performance of three grass species, inserted as invaders in the gaps of synthesized communities, was affected by percentage light transmittance in these gaps and by the species richness and productivity of the surrounding neighbour plants. We also investigated whether these influences changed through time.
  • 2
    In both the first and the second season following invader establishment, realized growth (invader leaf length) was positively related to percentage light transmittance (which was the best predictor for invasibility), and negatively related to neighbour biomass, in all species examined. The richness–invasibility relationship became significant only in year 2, when increasing neighbourhood richness enhanced complementarity (demonstrated by means of Imax, an index for assessing the degree of complementary resource use), which in turn negatively affected invader leaf length. In the first year such a relationship had not yet developed, probably because the communities were still young and plant interactions were still limited. However, even in year 2 the richness effect saturated at low richness, with no mixture over-yielding the best two-species mixture.
  • 3
    The data suggest that moderately productive, species-rich communities, preferably with some broad-leaved species, and with a nutrient input as low as possible, will offer the best defence against invasions.
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