Under Pressure: Shading, High Herbivory, and Low Levels of Fertilization Drive the Vegetative Response of a Highly Invasive Species.

ABSTRACT: Invasive plant species persist under environmental conditions due to phenotypic plasticity, which allows them to cope with conditions such as herbivory, competition, and resource availability. However, plant responses to individual and combined stressors are variable. In addition, fluctuating asymmetry (FA) has been proposed as an indicator of plant stress, although its reliability remains debated, and few studies have evaluated its responses under interacting stressors. We evaluated, in two greenhouse experiments, the isolated and combined effects of herbivory and shading; and belowground intraspecific competition and fertilization on performance, trait plasticity, and leaf FA in seedlings of the invasive plant Tithonia diversifolia. Shading reduced shoot biomass, but promoted plas

SUBMITTER: Venancio H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12899931 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature