Annual mowing has the potential to reduce the invasion of herbaceous Lupinus polyphyllus
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Annual mowing has the potential to reduce the invasion of herbaceous Lupinus polyphyllus Satu Ramula
Received: 9 March 2020 / Accepted: 9 July 2020 Ó The Author(s) 2020
Abstract In order to manage invasive plant species efficiently, it is necessary to have a thorough understanding of different strategies of population control, including the underlying mechanisms of action and the consequences for target populations. Here, I explored the effectiveness of biomass removal as a method of control for the invasive perennial herb Lupinus polyphyllus. More specifically, using seed material from 11 populations, I assessed among-population variation (if any) in plant compensatory growth as a response to annual biomass removal under standardised growing conditions over two consecutive years, and quantified the demographic effects of a single biomass-removal event. In all study populations, annual biomass removal reduced plant size, flowering probability, and shoot and root biomass. Biomass removal also reduced plant survival and the number of flowering shoots, but these effects were pronounced at certain time points only. A population-level demographic analysis revealed that a single biomassremoval event considerably decreased the long-term population growth rate (k); this decline in k was due to a reduction in plant fecundity followed by survival and growth. These findings suggest that annual mowing has the potential to curb invasions of L. polyphyllus
S. Ramula (&) Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland e-mail: [email protected]
because plants are not able to fully compensate for drastic biomass loss. Keywords Compensatory growth Demography Invasive species Mechanical weed management Population growth rate Vital rates
Introduction Across all taxa, the number of invasive species is increasing worldwide, with vascular plants representing a considerable proportion of all invaders (Seebens et al. 2017). Such an increase in invasive plant numbers is largely due to intensified global trade (Seebens et al. 2015), which is unlikely to change; this suggests that the monetary costs associated with the control of invasive species will probably continue to increase. Therefore, in order to use resources efficiently and maximise the probability of success of management plans for invasive species, it is necessary to first understand the underlying mechanisms of individual control actions targeted at invasive plants (Kettenring and Reinhardt Adams 2011). Biomass removal by mowing or cutting shoots is a popular method of control for invasive plant species (Kettenring and Reinhardt Adams 2011). Ideally, this control method depletes the resources of individual plants and, consequently, reduces growth and survival
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(Stoll et al. 1998). However, (over)compensatory responses to damage are common in a wide range of both wild and cultivated plant species (reviewed in Garcia and Eubanks 2019). That is, control actions may to som
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