RT Journal Article
T1 Alien plant species coexist over time with native ones in Chilean Mediterranean grasslands
A1 Martín Forés, Irene
A1 Castro Parga, Isabel
A1 Acosta Gallo, Belén
A1 Pozo Lira, Alejandro
A1 Sánchez Jardón, Laura
A1 Miguel Garcinuño, José Manuel de
A1 Ovalle, Carlos
A1 Casado González, Miguel Ángel
AB Aims Alien species are commonly considered as harmful weeds capable of decreasing native biodiversity and threatening ecosystems. Despite this assumption, little is known about the long-term patterns of the native–alien relationships associated with human disturbed managed landscapes. This study aims to elucidate the community dynamics associated with a successional gradient in Chilean Mediterranean grasslands, considering both native and alien species. Methods Species richness (natives and aliens separately) and life-form (annuals and perennials) were recorded in four Chilean post-agricultural grazed grasslands each covering a broad successional gradient (from 1 to 40 years since crop abandonment). A detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), mixed model effects analyses and correlation tests were conducted to assess how this temporal gradient influenced natives and aliens through community dynamics. Important Findings Our results show different life-form patterns between natives and aliens over time. Aliens were mainly represented by annuals (especially ruderals and weeds), which were established at the beginning of succession. Annual aliens also predominated at midsuccessional stages, but in old grasslands native species were slightly more representative than alien ones within the community. In the late successional states, positive or no correlations at all between alien and native species richness suggested the absence of competition between both species groups, as a result of different strategies in occupation of the space. Community dynamics over time constitute a net gain in biodiversity, increasing natives and maintaining a general alien pool, allowing the coexistence of both. Biotic interactions including facilitation and/or tolerance processes might be occurring in Chilean post-agricultural grasslands, a fact that contradicts the accepted idea of the alien species as contenders.
PB Journal of Plant Ecology
SN 1752-9921, ESSN: 1752-993X
YR 2016
FD 2016-12
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/18118
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/18118
LA eng
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO)
NO Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (MECD)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 4 may 2024