Functional traits of three major invasive grasses in a threatened tropical mountain grassland

The native flora of the Brazilian rupestrian grassland (campos rupestres) is threatened by the spread of invasive grasses. In this study, we evaluated the effect of habitat on the functional traits and CSR ecological strategies of three invasive alien grasses occurring both in the ironstone (IRG) and quartzitic (QRG) rupestrian grassland habitats. Although in both habitats the invasive species predominantly showed a stress-tolerant strategy, they exhibited distinct degrees of stress-tolerance and slightly differences in functional traits values in the IRG compared to the QRG. Habitat type distinctly influenced invasive grasses functional traits and ecological strategies, revealing a species-specific pattern.

Key words
Biological invasion; campos rupestres; CSR strategy; leaf economics spectrum; Poaceae; rupestrian grasslands

Authorship

GERALDO W. FERNANDES

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Ecologia Evolutiva e Biodiversidade, Departamento de Genética, Ecologia & Evolução, ICB, Av. Pres. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Caixa Postal 486, Pampulha, 30161-970 Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilUniversidade Federal de Minas GeraisBrazilBelo Horizonte, MG, BrazilUniversidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Ecologia Evolutiva e Biodiversidade, Departamento de Genética, Ecologia & Evolução, ICB, Av. Pres. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Caixa Postal 486, Pampulha, 30161-970 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1559-6049

LUCAS B.S. TAMEIRÃO

http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2820-4753

ADRIANA R. COSTA

Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e Saúde, Centro Universitário UNA, Rua dos Guajajaras, 175, Centro, 30180-100 Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilInstituto de Ciências Biológicas e SaúdeBrazilBelo Horizonte, MG, BrazilInstituto de Ciências Biológicas e Saúde, Centro Universitário UNA, Rua dos Guajajaras, 175, Centro, 30180-100 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1688-0714

DANIELE G. RIBEIRO

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8037-5915

MICHELE N. NEVES

http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2661-1558

BETÂNIA G. SOUZA E BRITO

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4738-8589

DANIEL NEGREIROS

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4780-2284

Correspondence to: Daniel Negreiros E-mail: negreiros.eco@gmail.com

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

GWF, LBST and DN: Conceptualization and methodology. LBST, ARC, DGR and MNN: Field sampling and laboratory measurements. DN: Data curation. GWF, LBST, ARC, DGR, MNN, BGSB and DN: Writing - review & editing. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.

SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Figures | Tables

Figures (2)
Tables (1)

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Figure 1
Triangular space representing the relative intensity of CSR strategies of three species of invasive exotic grasses and seven species of native grasses found in the ironstone rupestrian grasslands (IRG) and the quartzitic rupestrian grasslands (QRG). Colored symbols represent the mean of individuals of each exotic species (N = 10). The data of native grasses were obtained from Negreiros et al. (2014)NEGREIROS D, LE STRADIC S, FERNANDES GW & RENNÓ HC. 2014. CSR analysis of plant functional types in highly diverse tropical grasslands of harsh environments. Plant Ecol 215: 379-388., and the triangular symbols represent the mean of each native species (N = 10).

Thumbnail

Figure 2
Comparison of the functional traits and ecological strategies of each exotic invasive species in ironstone rupestrian grasslands (IRG) and the quartzitic rupestrian grasslands (QRG). Asterisks indicate significant difference for each species between IRG and QRG, according to the Mann-Whitney test: * p <0.05; ** p <0.01; *** p <0.001. C: competitiveness; S: stress-tolerance; R: ruderality. Bars represent the mean and the vertical line the standard error (N = 10 individuals).

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Table I
Results of the two-way analysis of variance. SLA: specific leaf area; LDMC: leaf dry matter content; Height: canopy height; C: competitiveness; S: stress-tolerance; R: ruderality. Bold p-values indicate significance (p < 0.05).

Figure 1 Triangular space representing the relative intensity of CSR strategies of three species of invasive exotic grasses and seven species of native grasses found in the ironstone rupestrian grasslands (IRG) and the quartzitic rupestrian grasslands (QRG). Colored symbols represent the mean of individuals of each exotic species (N = 10). The data of native grasses were obtained from Negreiros et al. (2014)NEGREIROS D, LE STRADIC S, FERNANDES GW & RENNÓ HC. 2014. CSR analysis of plant functional types in highly diverse tropical grasslands of harsh environments. Plant Ecol 215: 379-388., and the triangular symbols represent the mean of each native species (N = 10).

Figure 2 Comparison of the functional traits and ecological strategies of each exotic invasive species in ironstone rupestrian grasslands (IRG) and the quartzitic rupestrian grasslands (QRG). Asterisks indicate significant difference for each species between IRG and QRG, according to the Mann-Whitney test: * p <0.05; p <0.01; * p <0.001. C: competitiveness; S: stress-tolerance; R: ruderality. Bars represent the mean and the vertical line the standard error (N = 10 individuals).

Table I Results of the two-way analysis of variance. SLA: specific leaf area; LDMC: leaf dry matter content; Height: canopy height; C: competitiveness; S: stress-tolerance; R: ruderality. Bold p-values indicate significance (p < 0.05).

	Species		Habitat		Interaction
	F	p	F	p	F	p
SLA	5.472	0.007	3.001	0.089	5.915	0.005
LDMC	0.725	0.489	30.44	0.001	11.61	0.064
Height	55.4	0.000	27.02	0.003	11.41	0.073
C	217.8	0.000	6.009	0.017	30.4	0.000
S	14.64	0.008	2.836	0.098	6.56	0.003
R	9.399	0.000	0.348	0.557	10.73	0.000

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Functional traits of three major invasive grasses in a threatened tropical mountain grassland

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[1] Correspondence to: Daniel Negreiros E-mail: negreiros.eco@gmail.com