Research article

Influence of climate and regeneration microsites on Pinus contorta invasion into an alpine ecosystem in New Zealand

  • Received: 07 July 2016 Accepted: 24 August 2016 Published: 26 August 2016
  • In many regions, alien conifers have spread widely at lower elevations and are increasingly found colonizing alpine areas. Although studies have addressed conifer invasions at low elevations, little is known about the rates and constraints on spread into higher elevations. Here, we assess the relative importance of climate and the availability of regeneration microsites on the establishment of the alien species Pinus contorta into a high elevation site in New Zealand. Spread has occurred from two stands planted at the elevation of the native treeline (1347–1388 masl) in the 1960s. Most stems established between 1350 and 1450 masl and P. contorta individuals were found up to 270 m above the original plantings. Although the population has increased by 180% in the last 20 years, population growth rate has been declining. Furthermore, comparisons with studies from other mountain ranges around the world and at low elevations in New Zealand suggest this is a relatively limited spread. Our results suggest that climate variation did not have a significant effect on establishment patterns, as opposed to availability of regeneration microsites. Soil and alpine mat microsites favoured establishment of P. contorta and, although these microsites did not appear to be saturated, microsite availability may be an important limiting factor for the spread of P. contorta. Thus management strategies should focus on preventing spread in addition to removing already established stems.

    Citation: Sara Tomiolo, Melanie A. Harsch, Richard P. Duncan, Philip E. Hulme. Influence of climate and regeneration microsites on Pinus contorta invasion into an alpine ecosystem in New Zealand[J]. AIMS Environmental Science, 2016, 3(3): 525-540. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2016.3.525

    Related Papers:

  • In many regions, alien conifers have spread widely at lower elevations and are increasingly found colonizing alpine areas. Although studies have addressed conifer invasions at low elevations, little is known about the rates and constraints on spread into higher elevations. Here, we assess the relative importance of climate and the availability of regeneration microsites on the establishment of the alien species Pinus contorta into a high elevation site in New Zealand. Spread has occurred from two stands planted at the elevation of the native treeline (1347–1388 masl) in the 1960s. Most stems established between 1350 and 1450 masl and P. contorta individuals were found up to 270 m above the original plantings. Although the population has increased by 180% in the last 20 years, population growth rate has been declining. Furthermore, comparisons with studies from other mountain ranges around the world and at low elevations in New Zealand suggest this is a relatively limited spread. Our results suggest that climate variation did not have a significant effect on establishment patterns, as opposed to availability of regeneration microsites. Soil and alpine mat microsites favoured establishment of P. contorta and, although these microsites did not appear to be saturated, microsite availability may be an important limiting factor for the spread of P. contorta. Thus management strategies should focus on preventing spread in addition to removing already established stems.


    加载中
    [1] McDougall KL, Alexander JM, Haider S, et al. (2011) Alien flora of mountains: global comparisons for the development of local preventive measures against plant invasions. Divers Distrib 17: 103-111.
    [2] McDougall KL, Khuroo AA, Loope LL, et al. (2011) Plant invasions in mountains: Global lessons for better management. Mt Res Dev 31: 380-387. doi: 10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-11-00082.1
    [3] Pauchard A, Milbau A, Albihn A, et al. (2015) Non-native and native organisms moving into high elevation and high latitude ecosystems in an era of climate change: new challenges for ecology and conservation. Biol Invasions 18: 345-353.
    [4] Pauchard A, Kueffer C, Dietz H, et al. (2009) Ain’t no mountain high enough: plant invasions reaching new elevations. Front Ecol Environ 7: 479-486.
    [5] Jakobs G, Kueffer C, Daehler CC (2010) Introduced weed richness across altitudinal gradients in Hawai’i: humps, humans and water-energy dynamics. Biol Invasions 12: 4019-4031.
    [6] Khuroo AA, Rashid I, Reshi Z, et al. (2007) The alien flora of Kashmir Himalaya. Biol Invasions 9: 269-292.
    [7] Kueffer C (2010) Alien plants in the Alps: Status and future invasion risks. In: Price MF, editor. Europe’s ecological backbone: recognising the true value of our mountains. Copenhagen, Denmark: European Environment Agency, 153-154.
    [8] Langdon B, Pauchard A, Aguayo M (2010) Pinus contorta invasion in the Chilean Patagonia: local patterns in a global context. Biol Invasions 12: 3961-3971.
    [9] Marini L, Gaston KJ, Prosser F, et al. (2009) Contrasting response of native and alien plant species richness to environmental energy and human impact along alpine elevation gradients. Global Ecol Biogeogr 18: 652-661.
    [10] Hellmann JJ, Byers JE, Bierwagen BG, et al. (2008) Five potential consequences of climate change for invasive species. Conserv Biol 22: 534-543.
    [11] Theurillat JP, Guisan A (2001) Potential impact of climate change on vegetation in the European Alps: A review. Climatic Change 50: 77-109. doi: 10.1023/A:1010632015572
    [12] Walther GR, Roques A, Hulme PE, et al. (2009) Alien species in a warmer world: risks and opportunities. Trends Ecol Evol 24: 686-693.
    [13] Dodson EK, Root HT (2015) Native and exotic plant cover vary inversely along a climate gradient 11 years following stand-replacing wildfire in a dry coniferous forest, Oregon, USA. Global Change Biol 21: 666-675. doi: 10.1111/gcb.12775
    [14] Nuñez MA, Horton TR, Simberloff D (2009) Lack of belowground mutualisms hinders Pinaceae invasions. Ecology 90: 2352-2359. doi: 10.1890/08-2139.1
    [15] Willis SG, Hulme PE (2002) Does temperature limit the invasion of Impatiens glandulifera and Heracleum mantegazzianum in the UK? Funct Ecol 16: 530-539. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2435.2002.00653.x
    [16] Ross LC, Lambdon PW, Hulme PE (2008) Disentangling the roles of climate, propagule pressure and land use on the current and potential elevational distribution of the invasive weed Oxalis pes-caprae L. on Crete. Perspect Plant Ecol 10: 251-258. doi: 10.1016/j.ppees.2008.06.001
    [17] Wardle P (2008) New Zealand forest to alpine transitions in global context. Arct Antarct Alp Res 40: 240-249. doi: 10.1657/1523-0430(06-066)[WARDLE]2.0.CO;2
    [18] Nuñez MA, Medley KA (2011) Pine invasions: climate predicts invasion success; something else predicts failure. Divers Distrib 17: 703-713.
    [19] Hulme PE, Pyšek P, Jarošík V, et al. (2013) Bias and error in understanding plant invasion impacts. Trends Ecol Evol 28: 212-218.
    [20] Essl F, Mang T, Dullinger S, et al. (2011) Macroecological drivers of alien conifer naturalizations worldwide. Ecography 34: 1076-1084. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0587.2011.06943.x
    [21] Gundale MJ, Pauchard A, Langdon B, et al. (2014) Can model species be used to advance the field of invasion ecology? Biol Invasions 16: 591-607.
    [22] Richardson DM, Rejmanek M (2004) Conifers as invasive aliens: a global survey and predictive framework. Divers Distrib 10: 321-331.
    [23] Wardle P (1985) New Zealand timberlines 1. Growth and survival of native and introduced tree species in the Craigieburn Range, Canterbury. New Zeal J Bot 23: 219-234.
    [24] Harsch MA, Buxton R, Duncan RP, et al. (2012) Causes of tree line stability: stem growth, recruitment and mortality rates over 15 years at New Zealand Nothofagus tree lines. J Biogeogr 39: 2061-2071.
    [25] Ledgard N, Baker GC (1988) Mountainland forestry 30 years’ research in the Craigieburn Range, New Zealand. FRI bulletin-Forest Research Institute, New Zealand Forest Service.
    [26] Pena E, Hidalgo M, Langdon B, et al. (2008) Patterns of spread of Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. invasion in a Natural Reserve in southern South America. Forest Ecol Manag 256: 1049-1054.
    [27] Buckley YM, Brockerhoff E, Langer L, et al. (2005) Slowing down a pine invasion despite uncertainty in demography and dispersal. J Appl Ecol 42: 1020-1030. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2005.01100.x
    [28] Essl F, Moser D, Dullinger S, et al. (2010) Selection for commercial forestry determines global patterns of alien conifer invasions. Divers Distrib 16: 911-921.
    [29] Dickie IA, St John MG, Yeates GW, et al. (2014) Belowground legacies of Pinus contorta invasion and removal result in multiple mechanisms of invasional meltdown. Aob Plants 6: 15.
    [30] Ledgard N (2001) The spread of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta, Dougl.) in New Zealand. Forest Ecol Manag 141: 43-57.
    [31] Ledgard NJ (2006) Determining the effect of increasing vegetation competition through fertiliser use on the establishment of wildings in unimproved high country grassland. NZ J Forestry 51: 29-34.
    [32] McGregor KF, Watt MS, Hulme PE, et al. (2012) What determines pine naturalization: species traits, climate suitability or forestry use? Divers Distrib 18: 1013-1023.
    [33] Froude VA, 2011. Wilding conifers in New Zealand: beyond the status report. Report prepared for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Pacific Eco-Logic, Bay of Islands, 44p.
    [34] Wardle P (1985) New Zealand timberlines 3. A synthesis. New Zeal J Bot 23: 263-271.
    [35] Lotan J. Cone serotiny - fire relationships in lodgepole pine, 1976, Tall Timbers Research Center, Tallahassee, FL, 267-278.
    [36] Critchfield WB (1980) The genetics of lodgepole pine. Research Paper, USDA Forest Service, Washington, DC.
    [37] Wardrop T (1964) Reconnaissance survey of the occurrence of Pinus contorta on the Waiouru Military Reserve. Forest Research Institute, New Zealand Forest Service.
    [38] Miller JT, Ecroyd CE (1987) Introduced forest trees in New Zealand: recognition, role, and seed source. 2. Pinus contorta Loudon--contorta pine. FRI bulletin-Forest Research Institute, New Zealand Forest Service, 12.
    [39] Lotan JE, Perry DA (1983) Ecology and regeneration of lodgepole pine. Agriculture Handbook No. 606. Washington, DC, US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.
    [40] Fowells HA (1965) Silvics of forest trees of the United States. Agric Handb US Dep Agric, 762.
    [41] Cieraad E, McGlone MS (2014) Thermal environment of New Zealand's gradual and abrupt treeline ecotones. New Zeal J Ecol 38: 12-25.
    [42] McGinley MA, Smith CC, Elliott PF, et al. (1990) Morphological constraints on seed mass in lodgepole pine. Funct Ecol 4: 183-192. doi: 10.2307/2389337
    [43] Despain DG (2001) Dispersal ecology of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl.) in its native environment as related to Swedish forestry. Forest Ecol Manag 141: 59-68.
    [44] Mirov NT, 1967. The genus Pinus. Ronald Press, New York, USA.
    [45] Stermitz JE, Klages MG, Lotan JE (1974) Soil characteristics influencing lodgepole pine regeneration near West Yellowstone, Montana. Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Odgen, UT: USDA Forest Service Research Paper INT-163, 16.
    [46] Bulmer CE, Simpson DG (2005) Soil compaction and water content as factors affecting the growth of lodgepole pine seedlings on sandy clay loam soil. Can J Soil Sci 85: 667-679. doi: 10.4141/S04-055
    [47] Ledgard NJ, Paul TSH (2008) Vegetation successions over 30 years of high country grassland invasion by Pinus contorta. New Zealand Plant Protection 61: 98-104.
    [48] Stokes MA, Smiley TL (1968) An introduction to tree–ring dating. University of Chicago Press, Tucson 73p.
    [49] Duncan R (1989) An evaluation of errors in tree age estimates based on increment cores in kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides). New Zeal Natural Sci 16: 1-37.
    [50] Fraver S, Bradford JB, Palik BJ (2011) Improving tree age estimates derived from increment cores: a case study of red pine. Forest Sci 57: 164-170.
    [51] Gutsell SL, Johnson EA (2002) Accurately ageing trees and examining their height-growth rates: implications for interpreting forest dynamics. J Ecol 90: 153-166. doi: 10.1046/j.0022-0477.2001.00646.x
    [52] Alldredge JR, Ratti JT (1992) Further comparison of some statistical techniques for analysis of resource selection. J Wildlife Manage 56: 1-9.
    [53] R Development Core Team (2014) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. In: Computing RFfS, editor. Vienna, Austria.
    [54] Taylor KT, Maxwell BD, Pauchard A, et al. (2016) Drivers of plant invasion vary globally: evidence from pine invasions within six ecoregions. Global Ecol Biogeogr 25: 96-106.
    [55] Richardson DM, Williams PA, Hobbs RJ (1994) Pine invasions in the Southern hemisphere - Determinants of spread and invadability. J Biogeogr 21: 511-527.
    [56] Taylor KT, Maxwell BD, Pauchard A, et al. (2016) Native versus non-native invasions: similarities and differences in the biodiversity impacts of Pinus contorta in introduced and native ranges. Divers Distrib 22: 578-588.
    [57] Agee JK, Smith L (1984) Subalpine tree reestablishment after fire in the Olympic Mountains, Washington. Ecology 65: 810-819. doi: 10.2307/1938054
    [58] Simberloff D, Nuñez MA, Ledgard NJ, et al. (2010) Spread and impact of introduced conifers in South America: Lessons from other southern hemisphere regions. Austral Ecol 35: 489-504.
    [59] Crooks JA (2005) Lag times and exotic species: The ecology and management of biological invasions in slow-motion. Ecoscience 12: 316-329. doi: 10.2980/i1195-6860-12-3-316.1
    [60] Pauchard A, Escudero A, Garcia RA, et al. (2016) Pine invasions in treeless environments: dispersal overruns microsite heterogeneity. Ecol evol 6: 447-459. doi: 10.1002/ece3.1877
    [61] Harsch MA, Hulme PE, McGlone MS, et al. (2009) Are treelines advancing? A global meta-analysis of treeline response to climate warming. Ecol Lett 12: 1040-1049.
    [62] Pfister R, Daubenmire J (1973) Ecology of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Douglas). Management of Lodgepole Pine Ecosystems, 27-46.
    [63] Davis M (1994) Topsoil properties under tussock grassland and adjoining pine forest in Otago, New Zealand. New Zeal J Agr Res 37: 465-469. doi: 10.1080/00288233.1994.9513085
    [64] Yeates G, Saggar S, Daly B (1997) Soil microbial C, N, and P, and microfaunal populations under Pinus radiata and grazed pasture land-use systems. Pedobiologia 41: 549-565.
    [65] Dehlin H, Peltzer DA, Allison VJ, et al. (2008) Tree seedling performance and below-ground properties in stands of invasive and native tree species. New Zeal J Ecol 32: 67-79.
    [66] Paul T, Ledgard N (2009) Vegetation succession associated with wilding conifer removal. New Zealand Plant Protection 62: 374-379.
    [67] Allen RB, Lee WG (1989) Seedling establishment microsites of exotic conifers in Chionochloa rigida tussock grassland, Otago, New Zealand. New Zeal J Bot 27: 491-498.
    [68] Kraaij T, Ward D (2006) Effects of rain, nitrogen, fire and grazing on tree recruitment and early survival in bush-encroached savanna, South Africa. Plant Ecol 186: 235-246. doi: 10.1007/s11258-006-9125-4
    [69] Hulme PE (2012) Weed risk assessment: a way forward or a waste of time? J Appl Ecol 49: 10-19. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2011.02069.x
  • Reader Comments
  • © 2016 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com
  • 1. 

    沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院 沈阳 110142

  1. 本站搜索
  2. 百度学术搜索
  3. 万方数据库搜索
  4. CNKI搜索

Metrics

Article views(4564) PDF downloads(1132) Cited by(10)

Article outline

Figures and Tables

Figures(4)  /  Tables(1)

/

DownLoad:  Full-Size Img  PowerPoint
Return
Return

Catalog