Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Soil type, microsite, and herbivory influence growth and survival of Schinus molle (Peruvian pepper tree) invading semi-arid African savanna

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biological Invasions Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Naturalization of Schinus molle (Anacardiaceae) has been observed in semi arid savanna of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. However, with high dispersal ability, the species is expected to achieve greater densities and invade more widely. The study involved a field manipulation experiment over 14 months using a factorial block design to examine transplanted seedlings in different savanna environments. The experiments examine the effects of soil type (sandy and clay), microsite, and herbivores on seedling performance (establishment, growth and survival). Seedlings were grown in a greenhouse and individually transplanted into four treatment groups: in open grassland, under tree canopies, and with and without cages to exclude large herbivores (cattle and game). The same experiment was repeated in two different soil types: coarse sand and fine-textured clay soil. Results suggest that protection provided by canopies of large indigenous Acacia trees facilitates S. molle invasion into semi-arid savanna. In the field, S. molle seedlings performed considerably better beneath canopies of indigenous Acacia trees than in open areas regardless of soil type. Whether exposed or protected from large herbivores, no seedlings planted in open grassland survived the first winter. Although, seedlings grew better and had higher survival rates beneath tree canopies than in the open sites, exposure to large herbivores significantly decreased heights and canopy areas of seedlings compared with those protected from large herbivores. The effect was greater on clay soil than on sandy soil. The results suggest that low temperature (frost), and possibly inter-specific competition with grasses, may limit S. molle seedling establishment, survival and growth away from tree canopies in semi arid savannas. Low soil nutrient status and browsing may also delay growth and development of this species. The invasive potential of S. molle is thus greatest on fertile soils where sub-canopy microsites are present and browsing mammals are absent.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abensperg-traun M, Atkins L, Hobbs R, Steven D (1998) Exotic plant invasion and understory species richness: a comparison of two types of eucalypt woodland in agricultural Western Australia. Pac Cons Biol 4:21–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Allcock KG (2002) Effects of phosphorus on growth and competitive interactions of native and introduced species found in white box woodlands. Austral Ecol 27:638–646

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belsky AJ (1994) Influences of trees on savanna productivity: tests of shade, nutrients and tree-grass competition. Ecology 75:922–932

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belsky AJ, Amundson RG, Duxbury JM, Riha SJ, Ali AR, Mwonga SM (1989) The effects of trees on their physical, chemical, and biological environments in a semiarid savanna in Kenya. J appl Ecol 26:1005–1024

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belsky AJ, Mwonga SM, Amundson RG, Duxbury JM, Ali AR (1993) Comparative effects of isolated trees on their undercanopy environments in high- and low-rainfall savannas. J appl Ecol 30:143–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bronstein IN, Semendjajew KA (1991) Taschenbuch der Mathematik, 25th edn. B.G. Teubner Verlagsgesellschaft, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Callaway RM (1995) Positive interactions among plants. Bot Rev 61:306–349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canham CD (1989) Different responses to gaps among shade tolerant tree species. Ecology 70:548–550

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies KW, Bates JD, Miller RF (2007) The influence of Artemesia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis on microsite and herbaceous vegetation heterogeneity. J Arid Environ 69:441–457

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dean WRJ, Milton SJ (2000) Directed dispersal of Opuntia species in the Karoo, South Africa: are crows the responsible agents? J Arid Environ 45:305–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dean WRJ, Milton SJ, Jeltsch F (1999) large trees, fertile islands and birds in arid savanna. J Arid Environ 40:61–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeWalt SJ, Denslow JS, Ickes K (2004) Natural-enemy release facilitates habitat expansion of the invasive tropical shrub Clidemia hirta. Ecology 85:471–483

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drezner TD (2007) An analysis of winter temperature and dew point under the canopy of a common Sonoran Desert nurse and implications for positive plant interactions. J Arid Environ 69:554–568

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elix J, Lambert J (1997) More than just the odd tree: incentives and barriers to rural woodland conservation. Environment Australia, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Flores J, Enrique J (2003) Are nurse-protégé interactions more common among plants from arid environments? J Veg Sci 14:911–916

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freitas H, Mooney H (1996) Effects of water stress and soil texture on the performance of 2 Bromus hordeaceus from sandstone and serpentine soils. Acta Oecol 17:307–317

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon DR, Welker JM, Menke JW, Rice KJ (1989) Competition for soil water between annual plants and blue oak seedlings. Oecologia 79:533–541

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grossnickle SC (2000) Ecophysiology of Northern Spruce species. The performance of planted seedlings. NCR-CNRC Research Press, Ottawa

    Google Scholar 

  • Higgins SI, Bond WJ, Trollope WSW (2000) Fire, resprouting and variability: a recipe for grass-tree coexistence in savanna. J Ecol 88:213–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann JH, Moran VC (1998) The population dynamics of an introduced tree, Sesbania punicea, in South Africa, in response to long-term damage caused by different combinations of three species of biological control agents. Oecologia 114:343–348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard LF, Minnich RA (1989) The introduction and naturalization of Schinus molle (Pepper Tree) in Riverside, California. Landsc Urban Plan 18:77–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iponga DM, Krug CB, Milton SJ (2005) Competition and herbivory influence growth and survival of shrubs on old fields: implication for restoration of renosterveld shrubland. J Veg Sci 16:685–692

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iponga DM, Milton SJ, Richardson DM (2008) Superiority in competition for light: a crucial attribute defining the impact of the invasive alien tree Schinus molle (Peruvian pepper tree) in South Africa. J Arid Environ. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2007.10.001

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeltsch F, Weber GE, Grimm V (2000) Ecological buffering mechanisms in savannas: a unifying theory of long-term tree grass coexistence. Plant Ecol 161:161–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jordano P, Herrera CM (1995) Shuffling the offspring: uncoupling and spatial discordance of multiple stages in vertebrate seed dispersal. Ecoscience 2:230–237

    Google Scholar 

  • Mana-Petite A, Muñoz-Rueda A (2005) Effect of cold storage treatments and transplanting stress on gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence and survival under water limiting conditions of Pinus radiata stock-types. Eur J For Res 124:73–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Milton SJ, Dean WRJ, Marincowitz CP (1992) Preferential utilization of pans by springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis). J Grassl Soc Sth Afr 55:259–266

    Google Scholar 

  • Milton SJ, Wilson JRU, Richardson DM, Seymour CL, Dean WRJ, Iponga DM, Procheş Ş (2007) Invasive alien plants infiltrate bird-mediated shrub nucleation processes in arid savanna. J Ecol 95:648–661

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell CE, Reich PB, Tilman D, Groth JV (2003) Effects of elevated CO2, nitrogen deposition, and decreased species diversity on foliar fungal plant disease. Global Change Biol 9:438–451

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mucina L, Rutherford MC, Powrie LW (eds) (2006) Vegetation map of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, 1/1000 000 scale sheet map. South Africa National Biodiversity institute, Pretoria

    Google Scholar 

  • Nambiar EKS, Bowen GD, Sands R (1979) Root regeneration and plant water status of Pinus radiata D. Don seedlings transplanted to different soil temperatures. J Exp Bot 30:1119–1131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nel JL, Richardson DM, Rouget M, Mgidi T, Mdzeke N, Le Maitre DC, van Wilgen BW, Schonegevel L, Henderson L, Neser S (2004) A proposed classification of invasive alien plant species in South Africa: towards prioritising species and areas for management action. S Afr J Sci 100:53–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Peters DPC (2004) Selection of models of invasive species dynamics. Weed Technol 18:1236–1239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitt MD, Newman RF, Youwe PL, Wikeem BM, Quinton DA (1998) Using a grazing pressure index to predict cattle damage of regenerating tree saplings. J Range Manage 51:417–422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prober SM, Thiele KR (1995) Conservation of the grassy white box woodlands: relative contributions of size and disturbance to floristic composition and diversity of remnants. Aust J Bot 43:349–366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radford IJ, Nicholas DM, Brown JR (2001) Impact of prescribed burning on Acacia nilotica seed banks and seedlings in the Astrebla grasslands of northern Australia. J Arid Environ 49:795–807

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reich PB, Grigal DF, Aber JD, Gower ST (1997) Nitrogen mineralization and productivity in 50 hardwood and conifer stands on diverse soils. Ecology 78:335–347

    Google Scholar 

  • Richardson DM, Bond WJ, Dean WRJ, Higgins SI, Midgley GF, Milton SJ, Powrie L, Rutherford MC, Samways MJ, Schulze RE (2000) Invasive alien organisms and global change: a South African perspective. In: Mooney HA, Hobbs RJ (eds) Invasive species in a changing world. Island Press, Washington DC, pp 303–349

    Google Scholar 

  • Roos PC, Allsopp N (1997) Soil nutrient ecology associated with Acacia sieberana at different tree densities in a South African savanna. Afr J Range Forage Sci 14:39–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Rouget M, Richardson DM, Nel JL, Le Maitre DC, Egoh B, Mgidi T (2004) Mapping the potential spread of major plant invaders in South Africa using climatic suitability. Diversity Distrib 10:475–484

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell SK, Schupp EW (1998) Effects of microhabitat patchiness on patterns of seed dispersal and seed predation of Cercocarpus ledifolius (Rosaceae). Oikos 81:434–443

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scholes RJ, Archer SR (1997) Tree–grass interactions in savannas. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 28:517–544

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shumway SW (2000) Facilitative effects of a sand dune shrub on species growing beneath the shrub canopy. Oecologia 124:138–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siemann E, Rogers WE (2003) Changes in light and nitrogen availability under pioneer trees may indirectly facilitate tree invasions of grasslands. J Ecol 91:923–931

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silva SI, Bozinovic F, Jaksic F (2005) Frugivory and seed dispersal by foxes in relation to mammalian prey abundance in a semi arid thornscrub. Austral Ecol 30:739–746

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • South African Weather service http://www.weathersa.co.za/Climat/Climstats/KimberleyStats.jsp

  • Spottiswoode CN (2005) Behavioural ecology and tropical life-histories in African birds. PhD thesis, University of Cambridge, UK

  • StatSoft, Inc. (2003) STATISTICA (data analysis software system), version 6. www.statsoft.com

  • Teague WR, Dowhower SL, Whisenant SG, Flores-Ancira E (2001) Mesquite and grass interference with establishing redberry juniper seedlings. J Range Manage 54:680–684

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Auken OW (2000) Shrub invasions of North American semiarid grasslands. Annu Rev Ecol Evol S 31:197–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verdú M, García-Fayos P (1996) Nucleation processes in a Mediterranean bird-dispersed plant. Funct Ecol 10:275–280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vinton MA, Burke IC (1995) Interactions between individual plant species and soil nutrient status in shortgrass steppe. Ecology 76:1116–1134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weltzin JF, McPherson GR (1999) Facilitation of conspecific seedling recruitment and shifts in temperate savanna ecotones. Ecol Monogr 69:513–534

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

We acknowledge financial support from the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Conservation Ecology & Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, South Africa

    Donald M. Iponga & Suzanne J. Milton

  2. Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, South Africa

    David M. Richardson

Authors
  1. Donald M. Iponga
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Suzanne J. Milton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David M. Richardson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David M. Richardson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Iponga, D.M., Milton, S.J. & Richardson, D.M. Soil type, microsite, and herbivory influence growth and survival of Schinus molle (Peruvian pepper tree) invading semi-arid African savanna. Biol Invasions 11, 159–169 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-008-9221-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-008-9221-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation