Introduced plants often face new environmental conditions in their non-native ranges. To become invasive, they need to overcome several biotic and abiotic filters that may trigger adaptive changes in life-history traits, like post-germination processes. Such early life cycle traits may play a crucial role in the colonization and establishment success of invasive plants. As a previous study revealed that seeds of non-native populations of the woody Siberian elm, Ulmus pumila, germinated faster than those of native populations, we expected growth performance of seedlings to mirror this finding. Here, we conducted a common garden greenhouse experiment using different temperature and watering treatments to compare the biomass production of U. pumila seedlings derived from 7 native and 13 populations from two non-native ranges. Our results showed that under all treatments, non-native populations were characterized by higher biomass production and enhanced resource allocation to aboveground biomass compared to the native populations. The observed enhanced growth performance of non-native populations might be one of the contributing factors for the invasion success of U. pumila due to competitive advantages during the colonization of new sites.

Centro de Ecología y Recursos Naturales Renovables Dr Ricardo Luti Av Vélez Sarsfield 1611 Córdoba X5016GCA Argentina

Department of Botany and Zoology Centre for Invasion Biology Stellenbosch University Matieland South Africa

German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle Jena Leipzig Leipzig Germany

Herbarium PRC and Department of Botany Charles University Prague Benátská 2 12801 Praha Czech Republic

Institute of Biology Geobotany and Botanical Garden Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg Halle Germany

Institute of Ecology Faculty of Sustainability Centre of Methods Leuphana University Scharnhorststraße 1 21335 Lueneburg Germany

Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology Savoyen Strasse 1 1160 Vienna Austria

Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Goerlitz Am Museum 1 02826 Goerlitz Germany

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Abhilasha D, Joshi J. 2009. Enhanced fitness due to higher fecundity, increased defence against a specialist and tolerance towards a generalist herbivore in an invasive annual plant. Journal of Plant Ecology 2:77–86.

Barney JN, Whitlow TH, DiTommaso A. 2009. Evolution of an invasive phenotype: shift to belowground dominance and enhanced competitive ability in the introduced range. Plant Ecology 202:275–284.

Barrett RDH, Schluter D. 2008. Adaptation from standing genetic variation. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 23:33–44. PubMed

Bates D, Maechler M, Bolker B, Walker S. 2015. Fitting linear mixed-effect models using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software 67:1–48.

Blair AC, Wolfe LM. 2004. The evolution of an invasive plant: an experimental study with Silene latifolia. Ecology 85:3035–3042.

Blossey B, Notzold R. 1995. Evolution of increased competitive ability in invasive nonindigenous plants: a hypothesis. The Journal of Ecology 83:887–889.

Blumenthal DM, Hufbauer RA. 2007. Increased plant size in exotic population: a common-garden test with 14 invasive species. Ecology 88:2758–2765. PubMed

Bossdorf O, Auge H, Lafuma L, Rogers WE, Siemann E, Prati D. 2005. Phenotypic and genetic differentiation between native and introduced plant populations. Oecologia 144:1–11. PubMed

Cogolludo-Agustín MÁ, Agúndez D, Gil L. 2000. Identification of native and hybrid elms in Spain using isozyme gene markers. Heredity 85:157–166. PubMed

De Rosario-Martínez H. 2015. phia: post-hoc interaction analysis. R package version 0.2-0. http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=phia. Assessed 03 March 2015.

Dlugosch KM, Parker IM. 2008. Invading populations of an ornamental shrub show rapid life history evolution despite genetic bottlenecks. Ecology Letters 11:701–709. PubMed

Donohue K, Rubio de Casas R, Burghardt L, Kovach K, Willis CG. 2010. Germination, postgermination adaptation and species ecological ranges. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 41:293–319.

Dormontt EE, Lowe AJ, Prentis PJ. 2011. Is rapid adaptive evolution important in successful invasions? In: Richardson DM, ed. Fifty years of invasion ecology: the legacy of Charles Elton. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 175–193.

Ellstrand NC, Schierenbeck KA. 2000. Hybridization as a stimulus for the evolution of invasiveness in plants? Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 97:7043–7050. PubMed PMC

Erfmeier A, Bruelheide H. 2005. Invasive and native Rhododendron ponticum populations: is there evidence for genotypic differences in germination and growth? Ecography 28:417–428.

Forsman A. 2014. Effects of genotypic and phenotypic variation on establishment are important for conservation, invasion and infection biology. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 111:302–307. PubMed PMC

Forsman A, Wennersten L. 2015. Inter-individual variation promotes ecological success of populations and species: evidence from experimental and comparative studies. Ecography 38:001–019.

Fox J, Weisberg S. 2011. An R companion to applied regression, 2nd ed Thousands Oaks: Sage Publications.

Gibson AL, Espeland EK, Wagner V, Nelson CR. 2016. Can local adaptation research in plants inform selection of native plant materials? An analysis of experimental methodologies. Evolutionary Applications. doi:10.1111/eva.12379. PubMed PMC

Gioria M, Osborne BA. 2014. Resource competition in plant invasions: emerging patterns and resarch needs. Frontiers in Plant Science 5:501.. PubMed PMC

Grover R, Martin EW, Lindquist CH. 1963. Maturity and storage of Siberian elm seeds. Forest Science 9:493–496.

Hirsch H, Zimmermann H, Ritz CM, Wissemann V, von Wehrden H, Renison D, Wesche K, Welk E, Hensen I. 2011. Tracking the origin of invasive Rosa rubiginosa in Argentina. International Journal of Plant Sciences 172:521–529.

Hirsch H, Wypior C, von Wehrden H, Wesche K, Renison D, Hensen I. 2012. Germination performance of native and non-native Ulmus pumila populations. NeoBiota 15:53–68.

Hodgins KA, Lai Z, Nurkowski K, Huang J, Rieseberg LH. 2012. The molecular basis of invasiveness: differences in gene expression of native and introduced common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) in stressful and benign environments. Molecular Ecology 22:2496–2510. PubMed

Huang QQ, Pan XY, Fan ZW, Peng SL. 2015. Stress relief may promote the evolution of greater phenotypic plasticity in exotic invasive species: a hypothesis. Ecology and Evolution 5:1169–1177. PubMed PMC

Jia X, Pan X-Y, Sosa A, Li B, Chen J-K. 2010. Differentiation in growth and biomass allocation among three native Alternanthera philoxeroides varieties from Argentina. Plant Species Biology 25:85–92.

Kartesz JT. 2011. North American Plant Atlas. http://www.bonap.org/MapSwitchboard.html. Accessed 10 October 2011.

Kawecki TJ, Ebert D. 2004. Conceptual issues in local adaptation. Ecology Letters 7:1225–1241.

Keller SR, Taylor DR. 2008. History, chance and adaptation during biological invasion: separating stochastic phenotypic evolution from response to selection. Ecology Letters 11:852–866. PubMed

Lavergne S, Molofsky J. 2007. Increased genetic variation and evolutionary potential drive the success of an invasive grass. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104:3883–3888. PubMed PMC

Le Roux JJ, Brown G, Byrne M, Ndlovu J, Richardson DM, Thompson GD, Wilson JRU. 2011. Phylogeographic consequences of different introduction histories of invasive Australian Acacia species and Paraserianthes lophantha (Fabaceae) in South Africa. Diversity and Distributions 17:861–871.

Leiblein-Wild MC, Kaviani R, Tackenberg O. 2014. Germination and seedling frost tolerance differ between the native and adventive range in common ragweed. Oecologia 174:739–750. PubMed PMC

Leopold DJ. 1980. Chinese and Siberian Elms. Journal of Arboriculture 6:175–179.

Mandák B, Hadincová V, Mahelka V, Wildová R. 2013. European invasion of North American Pinus strobus at large and fine scales: high generic diversity and fine-scale genetic clustering over time in the adventive range. PLoS One e68514.. PubMed PMC

Maron JL, Vilá M, Bommarco R, Elmendorf S, Beardsley P. 2004. Rapid evolution of an invasive plant. Ecological Monographs 74:261–280.

Mazia CN, Chaneton EJ, Ghersa CM, Leon RJC. 2001. Limits to tree species invasion in pampean grassland and forest plant communities. Oecologia 128:594–602. PubMed

Milbau A, Nijs I, Van Peer L, Reheul D, De Cauweer B. 2003. Disentangling invasiveness and invasibility during invasion in synthesized grassland communities. New Phytologist 159:657–667. PubMed

Mittempergher L, Santini A. 2004. The history of elm breeding. Investigación Agraria. Sistemas Y Recursos Forestales 13:161–177.

Moles AT, Flores-Moreno H, Bonser SP, Warton DI, Helm A, Warman L, Eldridge DJ, Jurado E, Hemmings FA, Reich PB, et al. 2012. Invasions: the trail behind, the path ahead, and a test of a disturbing idea. Journal of Ecology 100:116–127.

Moloney KA, Holzapfel C, Tielbörger K, Jeltsch F, Schurr FM. 2009. Rethinking the common garden in invasion research. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11:311–320.

NOBANIS. 2012. European Network on Invasive Alien Species. http://www.nobanis.org. Accessed 10 July 2012.

Novak SJ. 2007. The role of evolution in the invasion process. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104:3671–3672. PubMed PMC

Padilla FM, Aarts BHJ, Roijendijk YOA, de Caluwe H, Mommer L, Visser EJW, de Kroon H. 2013. Root plasticity maintains growth of temperate grassland species under pulsed water supply. Plant and Soil 369:377–386.

Petit RJ, Bialozyt R, Garnier-Géré P, Hampe A. 2004. Ecology and genetics of tree invasions: from recent introductions to Quaternary migrations. Forest Ecology and Management 197:117–137.

Prentis PJ, Wilson JRU, Dormontt EE, Richardson D, Lowe AJ. 2008. Adaptive evolution in invasive species. Trends in Plant Science 13:288–294. PubMed

R Core Team. 2015. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. http://www.R-project.org. Accessed 30 August 2015.

Reed DH, Frankham R. 2003. Correlation between fitness and genetic diversity. Conservation Biology 17:230–237.

Rejmánek M, Richardson D. 2013. Trees and shrubs as invasive alien species – 2013 update of the global database. Diversity and Distribution 19:1093–1094.

Richardson DM, Hui C, Nuñes MA, Pauchard A. 2014. Tree invasions: patterns, processes, challenges and opportunities. Biological Invasions 16:473–481.

Sakai AK, Allendorf FW, Holt JS, Lodge DM, Molofsky J, With KA, Baughman S, Cabin RJ, Cohen JE, Ellstrand NC, et al. 2001. The population biology of invasive species. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 32:305–332.

Saltonstall K, Stevenson JC. 2007. The effect of nutrients on seedling growth of native and introduced Phragmites australis. Aquatic Botany 86:331–336.

Schrieber K, Lachmuth S. 2016. The genetic paradox of invasions revisited: the potential role of inbreeding x environment interactions in invasion success. Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. doi:10.1111/brv.12263. PubMed

Seiwa K. 2000. Effects of seed size and emergence time on tree seedling establishment: importance of developmental constraints. Oecologia 123:208–215. PubMed

Todzia CA, Panero JL. 1998. A new species of Ulmus (Ulmaceae) from southern Mexico and a synopsis of the species in Mexico. Brittonia 50:343–347.

USDA and NRCS. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA. http://www.plants.usda.gov. Accessed 5 October 2011.

USDA. 2014. Field guide for managing Siberian Elm in the Southwest. Forest Service, Southwestern Region. TP-R3-16-17. http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5410128.pdf.

van der Maarel E, Titlyanova A. 1989. Above-ground and below-ground biomass relations in stepps under different grazing conditions. Oikos 56:364–370.

van Kleunen M, Dawson W, Schlaepfer D, Jeschke JM, Fischer M. 2010. Are invaders different? A conceptual framework of comparative approaches for assessing determinants of invasiveness. Ecology Letters 13:947–958. PubMed

von Wehrden H, Wesche K, Miehe G. 2009. Plant communities of the southern Mongolian Gobi. Phytocoenologia 39:331–376.

Webb WE. 1948. A report on Ulmus pumila in the Great Plains region of the United States. Journal of Forest Research 46:274–278.

Weigelt A, Steinlein T, Beyschlag W. 2002. Does plant competition intensity rather depend on biomass or on species identity? Basic and Applied Ecology 3:85–94.

Wesche K, Walther D, von Wehrden H, Hensen I. 2011. Trees in the desert: reproduction and genetic structure of fragmented Ulmus pumila forests in Mongolian drylands. Flora 206:91–99.

Wilson JB. 1987. A review of evidence on the control of shoot: root ratio, in relation to models. Annals of Botany 61:433–449.

Wu F, Bao W, Li F, Wu N. 2007. Effects of drought stress and N supply on the growth, biomass partitioning and water-use efficiency of Sophora davidii seedlings. Environmental and Experimental Botany 63:248–255.

Wu ZY, Raven PH, Hong DY. 2003. Flora of China. Vol. 5 (Ulmaceae through Basellaceae). Beijing/St. Louis: Science Press/Missouri Botanical Garden Press; http://www.efloras.org. Accessed 20 November 2011.

Zalapa JE, Brunet J, Guries RP. 2010. The extent of hybridization and its impact on the genetic diversity and population structure of an invasive tree, Ulmus pumila (Ulmaceae). Evolutionary Applications 3:157–168. PubMed PMC

Zalba SM, Villamil CB. 2002. Woody plant invasion in relictual grasslands. Biological Invasions 4:55–72.

Zenni RD, da Cunha WL, Sena G. 2016a. Rapid evolution in growth and productivity can aid spear of a non-native tree. AoB PLANTS (this issue). PubMed PMC

Zenni RD, Dickie IA, Wingfield MJ, Hirsch H, Crous CJ, Mayerson LA, Burgess TI, Zimmermann TG, Klock MM, Siemann E, et al. (submitted/2016b) Evolutionary dynamics of tree invasions: completing the unified framework for biological invasions. AoB PLANTS (this issue). PubMed PMC

Zou J, Rogers WE, Siemann E. 2007. Differences in morphological and physiological traits between native and invasive populations of Sapium sebiferum. Functional Ecology 21:721–730.