Abstract
Abstract Invasive species usually benefit more than native species from increases in nutrient availability. Phenotypic plasticity in above‐ground traits has often been used to explain the superiority of invasive species in response to increased nutrient availability. However, it remains largely unclear whether and how root trait plasticity predicts the ascendancy of invasive plants following nutrient enrichment. Using a 3‐year field nitrogen (N) enrichment experiment, we evaluated the effect of N enrichment on the root traits and growth performance of a globally invasive cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora , and a co‐occurring native plant, Phragmites australis . We found that S. alterniflora exhibited high plasticity in root traits in response to N enrichment, whereas the root traits of P. australis largely remained unresponsive to fertilization. Specifically, in response to N enrichment, S. alterniflora decreased soil exploitation with a lower length ratio of lateral to adventitious roots. However, the root traits of S. alterniflora shifted to be more acquisitive under N enrichment with higher root N concentrations and lower root tissue density. Moreover, there were a series of anatomical adjustments in the adventitious roots of S. alterniflora in response to N enrichment, such as a thicker diameter, lower living cortex‐to‐stele ratio and higher xylem‐to‐root area ratio. These plastic adjustments in root traits jointly resulted in fast nutrient uptake and transportation in S. alterniflora , boosting its above‐ground productivity under fertile N conditions. Our study demonstrated that greater plasticity in root traits enables a globally successful invasive species to take advantages of increased nutrient availability, potentially increasing its invasiveness. We suggest that consideration of root traits can improve our understanding of below‐ground mechanisms underlying invasion under global nutrient enrichment. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
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Claims 10
Claim · model-written summary
S. alterniflora root traits were plastic under N enrichment.
- Taxon
- S. alterniflora
Sporobolus alternifloruse0 - Treatment
- N enrichmente0
- Outcome
- high plasticity in root traitse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“S. alterniflora exhibited high plasticity in root traits in response to N enrichment, whereas the root traits of P. australis largely remained unresponsive to fertilization.”
Claim · model-written summary
P. australis root traits were largely unresponsive to fertilization.
- Taxon
- P. australis
Phragmites australise0 - Treatment
- fertilizatione0
- Outcome
- root traitse0
- Direction
- unresponsivee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“S. alterniflora exhibited high plasticity in root traits in response to N enrichment, whereas the root traits of P. australis largely remained unresponsive to fertilization.”
Claim · model-written summary
N enrichment lowered the lateral to adventitious root length ratio in S. alterniflora.
- Taxon
- S. alternifloraSporobolus alternifloruse0
- Treatment
- N enrichmente0
- Outcome
- length ratio of lateral to adventitious rootse0
- Direction
- lowere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“in response to N enrichment, S. alterniflora decreased soil exploitation with a lower length ratio of lateral to adventitious roots.”
Claim · model-written summary
N enrichment raised root N concentrations in S. alterniflora.
- Taxon
- S. alternifloraSporobolus alternifloruse0
- Treatment
- N enrichmente0
- Outcome
- root N concentrationse0
- Direction
- highere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“root traits of S. alterniflora shifted to be more acquisitive under N enrichment with higher root N concentrations and lower root tissue density.”
Claim · model-written summary
N enrichment lowered root tissue density in S. alterniflora.
- Taxon
- S. alternifloraSporobolus alternifloruse0
- Treatment
- N enrichmente0
- Outcome
- root tissue densitye0
- Direction
- lowere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“root traits of S. alterniflora shifted to be more acquisitive under N enrichment with higher root N concentrations and lower root tissue density.”
Claim · model-written summary
N enrichment increased adventitious root diameter in S. alterniflora.
- Taxon
- S. alternifloraSporobolus alternifloruse0
- Treatment
- N enrichmente0
- Outcome
- diametere0
- Direction
- thickere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“adventitious roots of S. alterniflora in response to N enrichment, such as a thicker diameter, lower living cortex‐to‐stele ratio and higher xylem‐to‐root area ratio.”
Claim · model-written summary
N enrichment lowered the living cortex to stele ratio in S. alterniflora.
- Taxon
- S. alternifloraSporobolus alternifloruse0
- Treatment
- N enrichmente0
- Outcome
- living cortex‐to‐stele ratioe0
- Direction
- lowere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“adventitious roots of S. alterniflora in response to N enrichment, such as a thicker diameter, lower living cortex‐to‐stele ratio and higher xylem‐to‐root area ratio.”
Claim · model-written summary
N enrichment raised the xylem to root area ratio in S. alterniflora.
- Taxon
- S. alternifloraSporobolus alternifloruse0
- Treatment
- N enrichmente0
- Outcome
- xylem‐to‐root area ratioe0
- Direction
- highere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“adventitious roots of S. alterniflora in response to N enrichment, such as a thicker diameter, lower living cortex‐to‐stele ratio and higher xylem‐to‐root area ratio.”
Claim · model-written summary
Root adjustments increased nutrient uptake and transportation in S. alterniflora.
- Taxon
- S. alternifloraSporobolus alternifloruse0
- Outcome
- fast nutrient uptake and transportatione0
- Qualifier
- plastic adjustments in root traitse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“These plastic adjustments in root traits jointly resulted in fast nutrient uptake and transportation in S. alterniflora , boosting its above‐ground productivity under fertile N conditions.”
Claim · model-written summary
Root adjustments boosted aboveground productivity under fertile N conditions.
- Taxon
- S. alternifloraSporobolus alternifloruse0
- Outcome
- above‐ground productivitye0
- Direction
- boostinge0
- Qualifier
- fertile N conditionse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“These plastic adjustments in root traits jointly resulted in fast nutrient uptake and transportation in S. alterniflora , boosting its above‐ground productivity under fertile N conditions.”
The same questions in other papers
fertilization · growth · Phragmites australis (common reed)Positive and negative results
2 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.