Absorbing Roots of Invasive Woody Plants Apparently Have a Thicker Cortex Parenchyma Compared to Native Species
Abstract
Invasive plants are usually fast-growing species with a high rate of physiological processes. However, the relative growth rate has not been estimated for many invasive species, including Acer negundo L. (Sapindaceae) and Amelanchier spicata (Lam.) K. Koch (Rosaceae); this hampers the understanding of the reasons for the success of their invasion. The authors compared the absorbing roots of A. negundo and A. spicata with respect to mycorrhizal colonization with two native woody species of the same families, Acer platanoides L. and Sorbus aucuparia L. The samples were collected from several sites in the Central Urals and analysed using standard morphological and anatomical methods. The abundance of arbuscular mycorrhiza,
dark septate endophytes and root hairs did not differ between the invasive and native species. Nevertheless, the roots of the invasive species were shown to have a thicker cortex parenchyma formed by larger cells. We suggest that this could contribute to invasion success, but a higher growth rate of the roots of invasive species has not yet been proven.
Keywords: Acer negundo, Amelanchier spicata, invasive plants, absorbing roots, arbuscular mycorrhiza, root cortex, parenchyma
References
[1] van Kleunen, M., Weber, E., and Fischer, M. (2010). A metaanalysis of trait differences between invasive and noninvasive plant species. Ecology Letters, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 235–245.
[2] Pyankov, V. I., Ivanova, L. A., and Lambers, H. (1998). Quantitative anatomy of photosynthetic tissues of plants species of different functional types in a boreal vegetation, in Inherent Variation in Plant Growth. Physiological Mechanisms and Ecological Consequences, pp. 71–87. Leiden: Backhuys Publishers.
[3] Semchenko, M., Lepik, A., Abakumova, M., et al. (2017). Different sets of belowground traits predict the ability of plant species to suppress and tolerate their competitors. Plant and Soil, vol. 424, no. 1–2, pp. 157–169.
[4] Eissenstat, D. M., Wells, C. E., Yanai, R. D., et al. (2000). Whitbeck, building roots in a changing environment: Implications for root longevity. New Phytologist, vol. 147, no. 1, pp. 33–42.
[5] Lynch, J. P., Chimungu, J. G., and Brown, K. M. (2014). Root anatomical phenes associated with water acquisition from drying soil: Targets for crop improvement. Journal of Experimental Botany, vol. 65, no. 21, pp. 6155–6166.
[6] McCormack, L. M., Adams, T. S., Smithwick, E. A., et al. (2012). Predicting fine root lifespan from plant functional traits in temperate trees. New Phytologist, vol. 195, no. 4, pp. 823–831.
[7] Comas, L. H. and Eissenstat, D. M. (2004). Linking fine root traits to maximum potential growth rate among 11 mature temperate tree species. Functional Ecology, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 388–397.
[8] Jo, I., Fridley, J. D., and Frank, D. A. (2017). Invasive plants accelerate nitrogen cycling: Evidence from experimental woody monocultures. Journal of Ecology, vol. 105, pp. 1105–1110.
[9] Ostonen, I., Püttsepp, Ü., Biel, C, et al. (2007). Specific root length as an indicator of environmental change. Plant Biosystems, vol. 141, no. 3, pp. 426–442.
[10] Craine, J. M. and Lee, W. G. (2003). Covariation in leaf and root traits for native and non-native grasses along an altitudinal gradient in New Zealand. Oecologia, vol. 134, no. 4, pp. 471–478.
[11] Keser, L. H., Visser, E. J., Dawson, W., et al. (2015). Herbaceous plant species invading natural areas tend to have stronger adaptive root foraging than other naturalized species. Frontiers in Plant Science, vol. 6, no. 273.
[12] Smith, M. S., Fridley, J. D., Goebel, M., et al. (2014). Links between belowground and aboveground resource-related traits reveal species growth strategies that promote invasive advantages. PLoS One, vol. 9, no. 8.
[13] Betekhtina, A. A., Sergienko, A. O., and Veselkin, D. V. (2018). Root structure indicates the ability of Heracleum sosnowskyi to Absorb resources quickly under optimum soil conditions. Biology Bulletin, vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 247–254.
[14] Veselkin, D. V., Ivanova, L. A., Ivanov, L. A., et al. (2017). Rapid use of resources as a basis of the Heracleum sosnowskyi invasive syndrome. Proceedings Biological Sciences, vol. 473, pp. 53–56.
[15] Veselkin, D. V., P’yankov, S. V., Safonov, M. A., et al. (2017). The structure of absorbing roots in invasive and native maple species. Russian Journal of Ecology, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 303–310.
[16] Delivering alien invasive species inventories for Europe (DAISIE), www.europealiens.org.
[17] Vinogradova, Yu. K., Mayorov, S. R., and Khorun, L. V. (2010). The Black Data Book of Flora of Central Russia: Alien Species of Plants in the Ecosystems of Central Russia. Moscow: GEOS.
[18] Tretyakova, A. S. (2011). Invasive potential of adventive plant species of the Central Urals. Russian Journal of Biological Invasions, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 281–285.