On the other hand, where A. squamatus plants are present, the soil C:N ratio is
significantly lower (Table 19.1), indicating high biomass production and high
quality litter, which enables faster decomposition and nutrient cycle rates. This is
consistent with other invasive species, especially if they are capable of N-fixing
(Williams and Baruch 2000). It is generally accepted that many invasive species
benefit from high levels of nutrients (Schumacher et al. 2008 and references
therein). We can regard A. squamatus as an engineering species, fertilising its
own habitat. We can expect that the longer the species would be present in the
habitat, the more the nitrogen content in the soil would increase and further promote
A. squamatus growth. Climate change, prolonging the vegetation period, would
enable more biomass accumulation followed by rapid decomposition. These nutrients from decomposed biomass can be better used by fast-growing species that start
their development slightly later in the season than early spring species, which often
begin to grow by utilising nutrients accumulated in their storage organs. In such
cases of engineering alien species, adapted management is needed. Plants should be
removed from occupied habitats irrespective of height, so that biomass accumulation cannot promote their own growth. This also includes dead plants from the
previous season. However, this is not always feasible, so again plants should not be
allowed to attain 1 m in height. Additionally, fertilising urban and ruderal sites
could also promote invasions by alien species.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Maja Drags ˇic ˇ for her help in germination
studies and Daniel Veselic ˇ for helping with plant sampling. The ENSEMBLES data used in this
work was funded by the EU FP6 Integrated Project ENSEMBLES (Contract number 505539)
whose support is gratefully acknowledged.
Open Access This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Noncommercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
References
Aguiar, F. C., Ferreira, M. T., & Albuquerque, A. (2006). Patterns of exotic and native plant
species richness and cover along a semi-arid Iberian river and across its floodplain. Plant
Ecology, 184, 189–202.
Alpert, P., Bone, E., & Holzapfel, C. (2000). Invasiveness, invasibility and the role of environmental
stress in the spread of non-native plants. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and
Systematics, 3, 52–66.
Anonymous. (2006). Podnebne razmere v Sloveniji (Obdobje 1971–2000). Ljubljana: Slovenian
Environmental Agency. Retrieved July 6, 2012, from http://meteo.arso.gov.si/uploads/
probase/www/climate/text/sl/publications/podnebne_razmere_v_sloveniji_71_00.pdf
Bassett, P. A. (1980). Effects of grazing on vegetation dynamics in the Camargue, France.
Vegetatio, 43, 173–184.
Botkin, D., Saxe, H., Arau ´jo, M. B., Betts, R., Bradshaw, R., Cedhagen, T., Chesson, P., Davis,
M. B., Dawson, T., Etterson, J., Faith, D. P., Guisan, A., Ferrier, S., Hansen, A. S., Hilbert, D.,
Kareiva, P., Margules, C., New, M., Skov, F., Sobel, M. J., & Stockwell, D. (2007). Forecasting
effects of global warming on biodiversity. Bioscience, 57, 227–236.
19 Reproduction Biology of an Alien Invasive Plant: A Case of. . .
287
significantly lower (Table 19.1), indicating high biomass production and high
quality litter, which enables faster decomposition and nutrient cycle rates. This is
consistent with other invasive species, especially if they are capable of N-fixing
(Williams and Baruch 2000). It is generally accepted that many invasive species
benefit from high levels of nutrients (Schumacher et al. 2008 and references
therein). We can regard A. squamatus as an engineering species, fertilising its
own habitat. We can expect that the longer the species would be present in the
habitat, the more the nitrogen content in the soil would increase and further promote
A. squamatus growth. Climate change, prolonging the vegetation period, would
enable more biomass accumulation followed by rapid decomposition. These nutrients from decomposed biomass can be better used by fast-growing species that start
their development slightly later in the season than early spring species, which often
begin to grow by utilising nutrients accumulated in their storage organs. In such
cases of engineering alien species, adapted management is needed. Plants should be
removed from occupied habitats irrespective of height, so that biomass accumulation cannot promote their own growth. This also includes dead plants from the
previous season. However, this is not always feasible, so again plants should not be
allowed to attain 1 m in height. Additionally, fertilising urban and ruderal sites
could also promote invasions by alien species.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Maja Drags ˇic ˇ for her help in germination
studies and Daniel Veselic ˇ for helping with plant sampling. The ENSEMBLES data used in this
work was funded by the EU FP6 Integrated Project ENSEMBLES (Contract number 505539)
whose support is gratefully acknowledged.
Open Access This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Noncommercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
References
Aguiar, F. C., Ferreira, M. T., & Albuquerque, A. (2006). Patterns of exotic and native plant
species richness and cover along a semi-arid Iberian river and across its floodplain. Plant
Ecology, 184, 189–202.
Alpert, P., Bone, E., & Holzapfel, C. (2000). Invasiveness, invasibility and the role of environmental
stress in the spread of non-native plants. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and
Systematics, 3, 52–66.
Anonymous. (2006). Podnebne razmere v Sloveniji (Obdobje 1971–2000). Ljubljana: Slovenian
Environmental Agency. Retrieved July 6, 2012, from http://meteo.arso.gov.si/uploads/
probase/www/climate/text/sl/publications/podnebne_razmere_v_sloveniji_71_00.pdf
Bassett, P. A. (1980). Effects of grazing on vegetation dynamics in the Camargue, France.
Vegetatio, 43, 173–184.
Botkin, D., Saxe, H., Arau ´jo, M. B., Betts, R., Bradshaw, R., Cedhagen, T., Chesson, P., Davis,
M. B., Dawson, T., Etterson, J., Faith, D. P., Guisan, A., Ferrier, S., Hansen, A. S., Hilbert, D.,
Kareiva, P., Margules, C., New, M., Skov, F., Sobel, M. J., & Stockwell, D. (2007). Forecasting
effects of global warming on biodiversity. Bioscience, 57, 227–236.
19 Reproduction Biology of an Alien Invasive Plant: A Case of. . .
287