Drought affects the performance of native oak seedlings more strongly than competition with invasive crested wattle seedlings.

ABSTRACT: Two of the most important processes threatening vulnerable plant species are competitive displacement by invasive alien species and water stress due to global warming. Quercus lusitanica, an oak shrub species with remarkable conservation interest, could be threatened by the expansion of the invasive alien tree Paraserianthes lophantha. However, it is unclear how competition would interact with predicted reductions in water availability due to global climate change. We set up a full factorial experiment to examine the direct interspecific competition between P. lophantha and Q. lusitanica seedlings under control and water-limited conditions. We measured seed biomass, germination, seedling emergence, leaf relative growth rate, biomass, root/shoot ratio, predawn shoot water potential and mort

SUBMITTER: Santamarina S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10078637 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature