BACKGROUND: Despite the increasing number of studies attempting to model population growth in various organisms, we still know relatively little about the population dynamics of long-lived species that reproduce only in the later stages of their life cycle, such as trees. Predictions of the dynamics of these species are, however, urgently needed for planning management actions when species are either endangered or invasive. In long-lived species, a single management intervention may have consequences for several decades, and detailed knowledge of long-term performance can therefore elucidate possible outcomes during the management planning phase. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We studied the population dynamics of an invasive tree species, Pinus strobus, in three habitat types represented by their position along the elevation gradient occupied by the species. In agreement with previous studies on the population dynamics of long-lived perennials, our results show that the survival of the largest trees exhibits the highest elasticity in all of the studied habitats. In contrast, life table response experiments (LTRE) analysis showed that different stages contribute the most to population growth rates in different habitats, with generative reproduction being more important in lower slopes and valley bottoms and survival being more important on rock tops and upper slopes. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that P. strobus exhibits different growth strategies in different habitats that result in similar population growth rates. We propose that this plasticity in growth strategies is a key factor in the invasion success of the white pine. In all of the investigated habitats, the population growth rates are above 1, indicating that the population of the species is still increasing and has the ability to spread and occupy a wide range of habitats.

Institute of Botany Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Průhonice Czech Republic

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Elton CS (1958) The ecology of invasions by animals and plants. Methuen, London, UK.

Lodge DM (1993) Biological invasions: lessons for ecology. Trends Ecol Evol 8: 133–137. PubMed

Sakai AK, Allendorf FW, Holt JS, Lodge DM, Molofsky J, et al. (2001) The population biology of invasive plants. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 32: 305–332.

Pimentel D, Lach L, Zuniga R, Morrison D (2000) Environmental and economics costs of nonindigenous species in the United States. Bioscience 50: 53–65.

Kolar CS, Lodge DM (2001) Progress in invasion biology: predicting invaders. Trends Ecol Evol 16: 199–204. PubMed

Brown KA, Spector S, Wu W (2008) Multi-scale analysis of species introductions: combining landscape and demographic models to improve management decisions about non-native species. J Appl Ecol 45: 1639–1648.

Higgins SI, Richardson DM (1996) A review of models of alien plant spread. Ecol Model 87: 249–265.

Ibanez I, Silander JA, Wilson AM, Lafleur N, Tanaka N, et al. (2009) Multivariate forecasts of potential distributions of invasive plant species. Ecol Appl 19: 359–375. PubMed

de Camino-Beck T, Lewis MA (2009) Invasion with stage-structured coupled map lattices: application to the spread of scentless chamomile. Ecol Model 220: 3394–3403.

Pergl J, Müllerová J, Perglová I, Herben T, Pyšek P (2011) The role of long-distance seed dispersal in the local population dynamics of an invasive plant species. Divers Distrib 17: 725–738.

Münzbergová Z, Mildén M, Ehrlén J, Herben T (2005) Population viability and reintroduction strategies: a spatially explicit landscape-level approach. Ecol Appl 15: 1377–1786.

Herben T, Münzbergová Z, Mildén M, Ehrlén J, Cousins SOA, et al. (2006) Long-term spatial dynamics of Succisa pratensis in a changing rural landscape: linking dynamical modeling with historical maps. J Ecol 94: 131–143.

Jongejans E, Skarpaas O, Shea K (2008a) Dispersal, demography and spatial population models for conservation and control management. Perspect Plant Ecol Evol Systemat 9: 153–170.

Fréville H, Colas B, Riba M, Caswell H, Mignot A, et al. (2004) Spatial and temporal demographic variability in the endemic plant species Centaurea corymbosa (Asteraceae). Ecology 85: 694–703.

Jongejans E, de Kroon H (2005) Space versus time variation in the population dynamics of three co-occurring perennial herbs. J Ecol 93: 681–692.

Koop AL, Horvitz CC (2005) Projection matrix analysis of the demography of an invasive, nonnative shrub (Ardisia elliptica). Ecology 86: 2661–2672.

Al-Khafaji K, Tuljapurkar S, Horvitz C, Koop A (2007) Detecting variability in demographic rates: randomization with the Kullback–Leibler distance. J Ecol 95: 1370–1380.

Burns JH, Blomberg SP, Crone EE, Ehrlén J, Knight TM, et al. (2010) Empirical tests of life-history evolution theory using phylogenetic analysis of plant demography. J Ecol 98: 334–344.

Parker IM (2000) Invasion dynamics of Cytisus scoparius: a matrix model approach. Ecol Appl 10: 726–743.

Jongejans E, Shea K, Skarpaas O, Kelly D, Sheppard AW, et al. (2008b) Dispersal and demography contributions to population spread of Carduus nutans in its native and invaded ranges. J Ecol 96: 687–697.

Buckley YM, Brockerhoff E, Langer L, Ledgard N, North H, et al. (2005) Slowing down a pine invasion despite uncertainty in demography and dispersal. J Appl Ecol 42: 1020–1030.

Colling G, Matthies D (2006) Effects of habitat deterioration on population dynamics and extinction risk of an endangered, long-lived perennial herb (Scorzonera humilis). J Ecol 94: 959–972.

Franco M, Silvertown J (2004) A comparative demography of plants based upon elasticities of vital rates. Ecology 85: 531–538.

Vila M, Bartomeus I, Gimeno I, Traveset A, Moragues E (2006) Demography of the invasive geophyte Oxalis pes-caprae across a Mediterranean Island. Ann Bot-London 97: 1055–1062. PubMed PMC

Nehrbass N, Winkler E (2007) Is the Giant Hogweed still a threat? An individual-based modeling approach for local invasion dynamics of Heracleum mantegazzianum . Ecol Model 201: 377–384.

Sintes T, Moragues E, Traveset A, Rita J (2007) Clonal growth dynamics of the invasive Carpobrotus affine acinaciformis in Mediterranean coastal systems: a non-linear model. Ecol Model 206: 110–118.

Marco DE, Paez SA (2000) Invasion of Gleditsia triacanthos in Lithraea ternifolia montane forests of central Argentina. Environ Manage 26: 409–419. PubMed

Sebert-Cuvillier E, Paccaut F, Chabrerie O, Endels P, Goubet O, et al. (2007) Local population dynamics of an invasive tree species with a complex life-history cycle: a stochastic matrix model. Ecol Model 201: 27–143.

Ramula S, Knight TM, Burns JH, Buckley YM (2008) General guidelines for invasive plant management based on comparative demography of invasive and native plant populations. J Appl Ecol 45: 1124–1133.

Richardson DM, Rejmánek M (2004) Conifer as invasive aliens: a global survey and predictive framework. Divers Distrib 10: 321–331.

Caplat P, Nathan R, Buckley YM (2012) Seed terminal velocity, wind turbulence, and demography drive the spread of an invasive tree in an analytical model. Ecology 93: 368–377. PubMed

Tanaka H, Shibata M, Masaki T, Iida S, Niiyama K, et al. (2008) Comparative demography of three coexisting Acer species in gaps and under closed canopy. J Veg Sci 19: 127–138.

Silvertown J, Franco M, Pisanty I, Mendoza A (1993) Comparative plant demography - relative importance of life-cycle components to the finite rate of increase in woody and herbaceous perennials. J Ecol 81: 465–476.

Van Mantgem PJ, Stephenson NL (2005) The accuracy of matrix population model projections for coniferous trees in the Sierra Nevada, California. J Ecol 93: 737–747.

Pyšek P, Sádlo J, Mandák B (2002) Catalogue of alien plants of the Czech Republic. Preslia 74: 97–186.

Hadincová V, Köhnleinová I, Marešová J (2007) Invasive behaviour of white pine (Pinus strobus) in sandstone areas in the Czech Republic. In: Härtel H, Cílek V, Herben T, Jackson A, Williams R (eds) Sandstones Landscapes. Academia, Prague, Czech Republic. 219–224.

Münzbergová Z, Hadincová V, Wild J, Herben T, Marešová J (2010) Spatial and temporal variation in dispersal pattern of an invasive pine. Biol Invasions 12: 2471–2486.

Dostálek T, Münzbergová Z (2012) Comparative population biology of critically endangered Dracocephalum austriacum (Lamiaceae) in two distant regions. Folia Geobot DOI 10.1007/s12224-012-9132-2.

Heinken-Šmídová A, Münzbergová Z (2012) Population dynamics of the endangered, long-lived perennial species, Ligularia sibirica . Folia Geobot 47: 193–214.

Buckley YM, Ramula S, Blomberg SP, Burns JH, Crone EE, et al. (2010) Causes and consequences of variation in plant population growth rate: a synthesis of matrix population models in a phylogenetic context. Ecol Lett 13: 1182–1197. PubMed

Kaneko Y, Kawano S (2002) Demography and matrix analysis on a natural Pterocarya rhoifolia population developed along a mountain stream. J Plant Res 115: 341–354. PubMed

Beer V (2007) Microclimate influence on the vegetation of the Grosser Zchand and Hüllenschlüchte valleys, Saxon Switzerland (Germany). In: Härtel H, Cílek V, Herben T, Jackson A, Williams R (eds) Sandstones Landscapes. Academia, Prague, Czech Republic. 109–114.

Wendel GW, Smith HC (1990) Pinus strobus L. Eastern white pine. In: Burns RM, Honkala BH (eds) Silvics of North America, Vol 1 Conifers. USDA Forest Service Agriculture Handbook 654, Washington, D.C. USA. 476–488.

Nožička J (1965) Zavádění vejmutovky v Českých zemích do r. 1938 (White pine introduction into the Czech countries up to year 1938). Práce výzkumného ústavu lesnického ČSSR 31: 41–67.

Musil I (1971) Pěstování vejmutovky (Pinus strobus L.) v Evropě (White pine - Pinus strobus L. - cultivation in Europe). Acta Musei Silesiae, Series C Dendrologica 1971: 168–183.

Glöckner P (1995) Fyzickogeografické a geologické poměry okresu Děčín (Geography and geology of the Děčín district). Vlastivěda okresu děčínského, Ser. Příroda: 1–191.

Cílek V (2007) Climate, microclimate and paleoclimate of sandstone areas of Central and Northern Bohemia (Czech Republic). In: Härtel H, Cílek V, Herben T, Jackson A, Williams R (eds) Sandstones Landscapes. Academia, Prague, Czech Republic. 97–103.

Münzbergová Z, Ehrlén J (2005) How best to collect demographic data for PVA models. J Appl Ecol 42: 1115–1120.

Dovčiak M, Frelich LE, Reich PB (2005) Pathway in old-field succession to white pine: seed rain, shade, and climate effects. Ecol Monogr 75: 363–378.

Kozlowski TT (1971) Growth and development of trees. Academic Press, New York, USA.

Kozlowski TT, Kramer PJ, Pallardy SG (1991) The physiological ecology of woody plants. Academic Press, San Diego, USA.

Oostermeijer JGB, Brugman ML, De Boer ER, Den Nijs HCM (1996) Temporal and spatial variation in the demography of Gentiana pneumonanthe, a rare perennial herb. J Ecol 84: 153–166.

Münzbergová Z (2005) Determinants of species rarity: population growth rates of species sharing the same habitat. Am J Bot 92: 1987–1994. PubMed

Münzbergová Z (2006) Effect of population size on prospect of species survival. Folia Geobot 41: 137–150.

Caswell H (2001) Matrix population models: construction, analysis and interpretation. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, Massachusetts, USA.

de Kroon H, van Groenendael J, Ehrlén J (2000) Elasticities: a review of methods and model limitations. Ecology 81: 607–618.

Alvarez-Buylla ER, Slatkin M (1994) Finding confidence limits on population-growth rates –3 real examples revised. Ecology 75: 255–260. PubMed

Efron B, Tibshirani RJ (1994) Introduction to the bootstrap. Chapman and Hall, New York, USA.

MATLAB (2001) MATLAB, version 6.1. The Mathworks, Inc., Natick, Massachusetts, USA.

Münzbergová Z (2007) Population dynamics of diploid and hexaploid populations of a perennial herb. Ann Bot-London 100: 259–1270. PubMed PMC

Rydgren K, Oklame RH, Pico FX, de Kroon H (2007) Moss species benefits from breakdown of cyclic rodent dynamics in boreal forests. Ecology 88: 2320–2329. PubMed

Harper JL (1977) Population biology of plants. Academic Press, London, UK.

Moller AP, Jennions MD (2002) How much variance can be explained by ecologists and evolutionary biologists? Oecologia 132: 492–500. PubMed

Pánková H, Münzbergová Z, Rydlová J, Vosátka M (2011) The response of Aster amellus to mycorrhiza depends on the origins of both the soil and the fungi. Am J Bot 98: 850–858. PubMed

Werner PA, Caswell H (1977) Population growth rates and age vs. stage-distribution models for teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris Huds.). Ecology 58: 1103–1111.

DeWalt SJ (2006) Population dynamics and potential for biological control of an exotic invasive shrub in Hawaiian rainforests. Biol Invasions 8: 1145–1158.

Schutzenhofer MR, Knight TM (2007) Population-level effects of augmented herbivory on Lespedeza cuneata: implications for biological control. Ecol Appl 17: 965–971. PubMed

Emery SM, Gross KL (2005) Effects of timing of prescribed fire on the demography of an invasive plant, spotted knapweed Centaurea maculosa . J Appl Ecol 42: 60–69.

Lambrecht-McDowell SC, Radosevich S (2005) Comparing demographic costs of sexual reproduction and clonal growth in invasive and non-invasive Rubus . Biol Invasions 7: 281–295.

Lloyd AH, Wilson AE, Fastie CL, Landis RM (2005) Population dynamics of black spruce and white spruce near the arctic tree line in the southern Brooks Range, Alaska. Can J Forest Res 35: 2073–2081.

Kaneko Y, Takada T, Kawano S (1999) Population biology of Aesculus turbinate Blume: a demographic analysis using transition matrices on a natural population along a riparian environmental gradient. Plant Spec Biol 14: 47–68.

Kaneko Y, Kawano S (2002) Demography and matrix analysis on a natural Pterocarya rhoifolia population developed along a mountain stream. J Plant Res 115: 341–354. PubMed

Kwit C, Horvitz CC, Platt WJ (2004) Conserving slow-growing, long-lived tree species: input from the demography of a rare understory conifer, Taxus floridana . Conserv Biol 18: 432–443.

Stott I, Franco M, Carslake D, Townley S, Hodgson D (2010) Boom or bust? A comparative analysis of transient population dynamics in plants. J Ecol 98: 302–311.

Ehrlén J (2003) Fitness components versus total demographic effects: evaluating herbivore impacts on a perennial herb. Am Nat 162: 796–810. PubMed

Kolb A, Dahlgren JP, Ehrlén J (2010) Population size affects vital rates but not population growth rate of a perennial plant. Ecology 91: 3210–3217. PubMed

Caswell H (2000) Prospective and retrospective perturbation analyses: their roles in conservation biology. Ecology 81: 619–627.

Jacquemyn H, Brys R, Neubert MG (2005) Fire increases invasive spread of Molinia caerulea mainly through changes in demographic parameters. Ecol Appl 15: 2097–2108.

Lehtila K, Syrjanen K, Leimu R, Garcia MB, Ehrlén J (2006) Habitat change and demography of Primula veris: identification of management targets. Conserv Biol 20: 833–843. PubMed

Abe T, Wada K, Nakagoshi N (2008) Extinction threats of a narrowly endemic shrub, Stachyurus macrocarpus (Stachyuraceae) in the Ogasawara Islands. Plant Ecol 198: 169–183.

Octavio-Aguilar P, Gonzalez-Astorga J, Vovides AP (2008) Population dynamics of the Mexican cycad Dioon edule Lindl. (Zamiaceae): life history size categories and management impact. Bot J Linn Soc 157: 381–391.

Cropper WP, Loudermilk EL (2006) The interaction of seedling density dependence and fire in a matrix population model of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris). Ecol Model 198: 487–494.

Conditions in home and transplant soils have differential effects on the performance of diploid and allotetraploid anthericum species

Comparative population dynamics of two closely related species differing in ploidy level

European invasion of North American Pinus strobus at large and fine scales: high genetic diversity and fine-scale genetic clustering over time in the adventive range