The invasive cactus Opuntia stricta creates fertility islands in African savannas and benefits from those created by native trees

The patchy distribution of trees typical of savannas often results in a discontinuous distribution of water, nutrient resources, and microbial communities in soil, commonly referred to as “islands of fertility”. We assessed how this phenomenon may affect the establishment and impact of invasive plan...

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Autores: Novoa, Ana, Foxcroft, Llewellyn C., Keet, Jan-Hendrik, Pyšek, Petr, Le Roux, Johannes J.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/416274
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/416274
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85117701489
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Invasive species
Plant ecology
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spelling The invasive cactus Opuntia stricta creates fertility islands in African savannas and benefits from those created by native treesNovoa, AnaFoxcroft, Llewellyn C.Keet, Jan-HendrikPyšek, PetrLe Roux, Johannes J.Invasive speciesPlant ecologyThe patchy distribution of trees typical of savannas often results in a discontinuous distribution of water, nutrient resources, and microbial communities in soil, commonly referred to as “islands of fertility”. We assessed how this phenomenon may affect the establishment and impact of invasive plants, using the invasion of Opuntia stricta in South Africa’s Kruger National Park as case study. We established uninvaded and O. stricta-invaded plots under the most common woody tree species in the study area (Vachellia nilotica subsp. kraussiana and Spirostachys africana) and in open patches with no tree cover. We then compared soil characteristics, diversity and composition of the soil bacterial communities, and germination performance of O. stricta and native trees between soils collected in each of the established plots. We found that the presence of native trees and invasive O. stricta increases soil water content and nutrients, and the abundance and diversity of bacterial communities, and alters soil bacterial composition. Moreover, the percentage and speed of germination of O. stricta were higher in soils conditioned by native trees compared to soils collected from open patches. Finally, while S. africana and V. nilotica trees appear to germinate equally well in invaded and uninvaded soils, O. stricta had lower and slower germination in invaded soils, suggesting the potential release of phytochemicals by O. stricta to avoid intraspecific competition. These results suggest that the presence of any tree or shrub in savanna ecosystems, regardless of origin (i.e. native or alien), can create favourable conditions for the establishment and growth of other plants.This work was supported by the Czech Science Foundation (project no. 19–13142S, and EXPRO no. 19–28807X); Czech Academy of Sciences (long-term research development project RVO 67985939); the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology; Faculty of Science and Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University; and the South African National Department of Environment Affairs through its funding of the South African National Biodiversity Institute’s Invasive Species Programme.Peer reviewedSpringer NatureCzech Science FoundationAcademy of Sciences of the Czech RepublicMacquarie UniversityDepartment of Environmental Affairs (South Africa)South African National Biodiversity Institute202620262021info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501Publisher's versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://hdl.handle.net/10261/416274https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85117701489reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSICinstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Ingléshttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99857-xNoinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:digital.csic.es:10261/4162742026-05-22T06:33:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv The invasive cactus Opuntia stricta creates fertility islands in African savannas and benefits from those created by native trees
title The invasive cactus Opuntia stricta creates fertility islands in African savannas and benefits from those created by native trees
spellingShingle The invasive cactus Opuntia stricta creates fertility islands in African savannas and benefits from those created by native trees
Novoa, Ana
Invasive species
Plant ecology
title_short The invasive cactus Opuntia stricta creates fertility islands in African savannas and benefits from those created by native trees
title_full The invasive cactus Opuntia stricta creates fertility islands in African savannas and benefits from those created by native trees
title_fullStr The invasive cactus Opuntia stricta creates fertility islands in African savannas and benefits from those created by native trees
title_full_unstemmed The invasive cactus Opuntia stricta creates fertility islands in African savannas and benefits from those created by native trees
title_sort The invasive cactus Opuntia stricta creates fertility islands in African savannas and benefits from those created by native trees
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Novoa, Ana
Foxcroft, Llewellyn C.
Keet, Jan-Hendrik
Pyšek, Petr
Le Roux, Johannes J.
author Novoa, Ana
author_facet Novoa, Ana
Foxcroft, Llewellyn C.
Keet, Jan-Hendrik
Pyšek, Petr
Le Roux, Johannes J.
author_role author
author2 Foxcroft, Llewellyn C.
Keet, Jan-Hendrik
Pyšek, Petr
Le Roux, Johannes J.
author2_role author
author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Czech Science Foundation
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Macquarie University
Department of Environmental Affairs (South Africa)
South African National Biodiversity Institute
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Invasive species
Plant ecology
topic Invasive species
Plant ecology
description The patchy distribution of trees typical of savannas often results in a discontinuous distribution of water, nutrient resources, and microbial communities in soil, commonly referred to as “islands of fertility”. We assessed how this phenomenon may affect the establishment and impact of invasive plants, using the invasion of Opuntia stricta in South Africa’s Kruger National Park as case study. We established uninvaded and O. stricta-invaded plots under the most common woody tree species in the study area (Vachellia nilotica subsp. kraussiana and Spirostachys africana) and in open patches with no tree cover. We then compared soil characteristics, diversity and composition of the soil bacterial communities, and germination performance of O. stricta and native trees between soils collected in each of the established plots. We found that the presence of native trees and invasive O. stricta increases soil water content and nutrients, and the abundance and diversity of bacterial communities, and alters soil bacterial composition. Moreover, the percentage and speed of germination of O. stricta were higher in soils conditioned by native trees compared to soils collected from open patches. Finally, while S. africana and V. nilotica trees appear to germinate equally well in invaded and uninvaded soils, O. stricta had lower and slower germination in invaded soils, suggesting the potential release of phytochemicals by O. stricta to avoid intraspecific competition. These results suggest that the presence of any tree or shrub in savanna ecosystems, regardless of origin (i.e. native or alien), can create favourable conditions for the establishment and growth of other plants.
publishDate 2021
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2021
2026
2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
Publisher's version
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10261/416274
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85117701489
url http://hdl.handle.net/10261/416274
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85117701489
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99857-x
No
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer Nature
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer Nature
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
instname_str Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
reponame_str DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
collection DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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