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Invasive Glossy Buckthorn (<i>Frangula alnus</i>) Has Weak Impact on Native Understory Plant and Saprophagous Macroarthropod Communities
oleh: Gabrielle Roberge, Ira Tanya Handa, Tristan Juette, Daniel Kneeshaw
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2024-09-01 |
Deskripsi
Glossy buckthorn (<i>Frangula alnus</i> Miller) is an invasive alien plant species (IAPS) rapidly expanding in North America but is largely understudied compared to the common buckthorn (<i>Rhamnus cathartica</i>). Our study investigated the effects of a 27-year-old <i>F. alnus</i> invasion on native understory plant and saprophagous macroarthropod communities in a wet deciduous woodland in Southern Québec, Canada. We hypothesized a decreased taxonomic diversity and a change in community composition of both indicator taxa with increasing <i>F. alnus</i> density. The understory plant and saprophagous macroarthropod communities were characterized, respectively, through vegetation surveys and pitfall trapping across a density gradient of 43 plots invaded by <i>F. alnus.</i> Our results demonstrated that <i>F. alnus</i> did not exert a strong influence on species community composition, although the homogenization of understory plant communities was observed. Despite several decades of <i>F. alnus</i> invasion at our study site, the consequences on the selected indicator taxa were overall relatively small, suggesting that the magnitude of effects is variable. We suggest that further investigation at a larger scale should be performed to evaluate the effect of <i>F. alnus</i> on a broad diversity of indicators and understand any context dependency.