The dark side of facilitation: native shrubs facilitate exotic annuals more strongly than native annuals

By

Lucero, Jacob
Noble, Taylor
Haas, Stephanie
Westphal, Michael
Butterfield, H. Scott
Lortie, Christopher

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019

Original Publication

NeoBiota : advancing research on alien species and biological invasions

Volume

44

Pages

75-93

Subjects

Bromus rubens , Deserts , Exotic species , facilitation , invasional meltdown , native species , plant invasions , Shrubs

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sophia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.44.33771

 

Abstract

Positive interactions enhance biodiversity and ecosystem function, but can also exacerbate biological invasions. Facilitation of exotic invaders by exotic foundation species (invasional meltdown) has been studied extensively, but facilitation of exotic invaders by native foundation species has attracted less attention. Specifically, very few studies have examined the extent that native foundation species facilitate native and exotic competitors. Understanding the processes that mediate interactions between native and exotic species can help explain, predict, and improve management of biological invasions. Here, we examined the effects of native foundation shrubs on the relative abundance of the annual plant community – including native and exotic taxa – from 2015–2018 in a desert ecosystem at Carrizo Plain National Monument, California, USA (elevation: 723 m). Shrub effects varied by year and by the identity of annual species, but shrubs consistently enhanced the abundance of the annual plant community and facilitated both native (n=17 species) and exotic (n=4 species) taxa. However, at the provenance level, exotic annuals were facilitated 2.75 times stronger in abundance than native annuals, and exotic annuals were always more abundant than natives both near and away from shrubs. Our study reaffirms facilitation as an important process in the organisation of plant communities and confirms that both native and exotic species can form positive associations with native foundation species. However, facilitation by native foundation species can exacerbate biological invasions by increasing the local abundance of exotic invaders. Thus, the force of facilitation can have a dark side relevant to ecosystem function and management.