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Differential growth patterns and fitness may explain contrasted performances of the invasive Prunus serotina in its exotic range

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Abstract

This research investigates why the invasive American black cherry tends to dominate the forest canopy on well-drained, nutrient-poor soils, but usually hardly establishes on both waterlogged and calcareous soils in its exotic range. Prunus serotina was sampled from four soil types and two light conditions, to measure (1) radial growth; (2) height growth compared to the main native competitor, Fagus sylvatica; (3) leaf traits; (4) seed production; and (5) rate of fungal attack. We found that P. serotina invested a significant amount of energy in height growth and seed production on well-drained, nutrient-poor soils. These characteristics enabled it to rapidly capture canopy gaps and subsequently exert a mass effect on neighbouring stands. On moist soils, we found irregular growth patterns and high rates of fungal attack, while on calcareous soils, leaf traits suggested a low nitrogen assimilation rate, limiting the production of N-containing compounds. We conclude that P. serotina fails on waterlogged and calcareous soils because it is unable to allocate sufficient energy to fruiting and/or height growth. Conversely, it succeeds on well-drained, nutrient-poor soils because of high fitness which increases its invasiveness.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. Charles Abramson and Dr. Mark Bilton for their help in improving the editing and the English writing. We also thank the anonymous referees for their helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. The French ‘Office National des Forêts’ provided facilities during field works. This study was financially supported by the French ‘Ministère de l’Écologie et du Développement Durable’ (INVABIO II program, CR no. 09-D/2003).

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  1. Unité «Dynamiques des Systèmes Anthropisés» (JE 2532 DSA), Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 1 rue des Louvels, 80037, Amiens Cedex, France

    Déborah Closset-Kopp, Robert Saguez & Guillaume Decocq

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  1. Déborah Closset-Kopp
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  2. Robert Saguez
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  3. Guillaume Decocq
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Correspondence to Guillaume Decocq.

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Closset-Kopp, D., Saguez, R. & Decocq, G. Differential growth patterns and fitness may explain contrasted performances of the invasive Prunus serotina in its exotic range. Biol Invasions 13, 1341–1355 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-010-9893-6

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