Understory dominance and the new climax: Impacts of Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) invasion on native plant diversity and recruitment in a riparian woodland.

ABSTRACT: Riparian forests exhibit levels of ecological disturbance that leave them especially prone to biological invasions. Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is particularly suited to these habitats and is an aggressive invader along watercourses throughout its now-global range as an exotic invader. Using one of the few Silver Maple Floodplain Forest communities that has not been invaded by F. japonica in the West Branch Susquehanna River valley (Pennsylvania, USA) as a baseline, this study examines whether and how this primarily intact riparian forest community differs from nearby invaded communities in terms of 1) native species richness, 2) native species density, and 3) riparian forest tree recruitment. Defining a baseline (intact) community composition will inform restoratio

SUBMITTER: Wilson MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5740475 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature