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Outstanding performance of an invasive alien tree Bischofia javanica relative to native tree species and implications for management of insular primary forests.

ABSTRACT: Invasive alien tree species can exert severe impacts, especially in insular biodiversity hotspots, but have been inadequately studied. Knowledge of the life history and population trends of an invasive alien tree species is essential for appropriate ecosystem management. The invasive tree Bischofia javanica has overwhelmed native trees on Haha-jima Island in the Ogasawara Islands, Japan. We explored forest community dynamics 2 years after a typhoon damaged the Sekimon primary forests on Haha-jima Island, and predicted the rate of population increase of B. javanica using a logistic model from forest dynamics data for 19 years. During the 2 years after the typhoon, only B. javanica increased in population size, whereas populations of native tree species decreased. Stem diameter growth of B. javanica was more rapid than that of other tree species, including native pioneer trees. Among the understory stems below canopy trees of other species, B. javanica grew most rapidly and B. javanica canopy trees decreased growth of the dominant native Ardisia sieboldii. These competitive advantages were indicated to be the main mechanism by which B. javanica replaces native trees. The logistic model predicted that B. javanica would reach 30% of the total basal area between 2017 (in the eastern plot adjacent to a former B. javanica plantation) and 2057 (in the western plot distant from the plantation site), which is a maximum percentage allowing to eradicate under the present guideline of the National Forest. The results suggest immediate removal of B. javanica is required to preserve native biodiversity in these forests.

SUBMITTER: Abe T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7382941 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Outstanding performance of an invasive alien tree <i>Bischofia javanica</i> relative to native tree species and implications for management of insular primary forests.

Abe Tetsuto T Tanaka Nobuyuki N Shimizu Yoshikazu Y

PeerJ 20200723

Invasive alien tree species can exert severe impacts, especially in insular biodiversity hotspots, but have been inadequately studied. Knowledge of the life history and population trends of an invasive alien tree species is essential for appropriate ecosystem management. The invasive tree <i>Bischofia javanica</i> has overwhelmed native trees on Haha-jima Island in the Ogasawara Islands, Japan. We explored forest community dynamics 2 years after a typhoon damaged the Sekimon primary forests on H ...[more]

PMID: 32775053

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Project description:Partial leaf shedding induced by hydraulic failure under prolonged drought can prevent excess water consumption, resulting in delayed recovery of carbon productivity following rainfall. To understand the manner of water use of invasive species in oceanic island forests under a fluctuating water regime, leaf shedding, multiple physiological traits, and the progress of embolism in the stem xylem under repeated drought-irrigation cycles were examined in the potted saplings of an invasive species, Bischofia javanica Blume, and three endemic native species, Schima mertensiana (Sieb. Et Zucc,) Koitz., Hibiscus glaber Matsum, and Distylium lepidotum Nakai, from the Bonin Islands, Japan. The progress of xylem embolism was observed by cryo-scanning electron microscopy. The samples exhibited different processes of water saving and drought tolerance based on the different combinations of partial leaf shedding involved in embolized conduits following repeated de-rehydration. Predawn leaf water potential largely decreased with each successive drought-irrigation cycle for all tree species, except for B. javanica. B. javanica shed leaves conspicuously under drought and showed responsive stomatal conductance to VPD, which contributed to recover leaf gas exchange in the remaining leaves, following a restored water supply. In contrast, native tree species did not completely recover photosynthetic rates during the repeated drought-irrigation cycles. H. glaber and D. lepidotum preserved water in vessels and adjusted leaf osmotic rates but did not actively shed leaves. S. mertensiana exhibited partial leaf shedding during the first cycle with an osmotic adjustment, but they showed less responsive stomatal conductance to VPD. Our data indicate that invasive B. javanica saplings can effectively use water supplied suddenly under drought conditions. We predict that fluctuating precipitation in the future may change tree distributions even in mesic or moist sites in the Bonin Islands.

Dataset Information

Outstanding performance of an invasive alien tree Bischofia javanica relative to native tree species and implications for management of insular primary forests.

Publications

Outstanding performance of an invasive alien tree <i>Bischofia javanica</i> relative to native tree species and implications for management of insular primary forests.

Similar Datasets

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