Details zur Publikation

Kategorie Textpublikation
Referenztyp Zeitschriften
DOI 10.1016/j.foreco.2018.10.065
Volltext Autorenversion
Titel (primär) Different environmental drivers of alien tree invasion affect different life-stages and operate at different spatial scales
Autor Vicente, J.R.; Kueffer, C.; Richardson, D.M.; Vaz, A.S.; Cabral, J.A.; Hui, C.; Araújo, M.B.; Kühn, I. ORCID logo ; Kull, C.A.; Verburg, P.H.; Marchante, E.; Honrado, J.P.
Quelle Forest Ecology and Management
Erscheinungsjahr 2019
Department BZF; iDiv
Band/Volume 433
Seite von 263
Seite bis 275
Sprache englisch
Keywords Acacia dealbata Biological invasions Environmental factors Multimodel inference Scale-dependence
Abstract

Identifying the key factors driving invasion processes is crucial for designing and implementing appropriate management strategies. In fact, the importance of (model-based) prevention and early detection was highlighted in the recent European Union regulation on Invasive Alien Species. Models based on abundance estimates for different age/size classes would represent a significant improvement relative to the more usual models based only on species’ occurrence data. Here, we evaluate the relative contribution of different environmental drivers to the spatial patterns of abundance of several height classes (or life-stages) of invasive tree populations at the regional scale, using a data-driven hierarchical modelling approach. A framework for modelling life-stages to obtain spatial projections of their potential occurrence or abundance has not been formalized before.

We used Acacia dealbata (Silver-wattle) as a test species in northwest of Portugal, a heavily invaded region, and applied a multimodel inference to test the importance of various environmental drivers in explaining the abundance patterns of five plant height classes in local landscape mosaics. The ensemble of height classes is considered here as a proxy for population dynamics, life-stages and age of adult trees. In this test with A. dealbata, we used detailed field data on population height structure and calibrated an independent model for each height class. We found evidence to support our hypothesis that the distribution of height classes is mostly influenced by distinct factors operating at different scales. The spatial projections which resulted from several height class models provide an overview of population structure and invasion dynamics considering various life-stages, that is widely used in biodiversity and invasion research.

The approach proposed here provides a framework to guide forest management to deal more effectively with plant invasions. It allows to test the effects of key invasion factors (depending on the focal species and on data availability) and supports the spatial identification of suitable areas for invasive species’ occurrence while also accounting for the structural complexity of invasive species populations, thereby anticipating future invasion dynamics. The approach thus constitutes a step forward for establishing management actions at appropriate spatial scales and for focusing on earlier stages of invasion and their respective driving factors (regeneration niche), thereby enhancing the efficiency of control actions on major forest invaders.

dauerhafte UFZ-Verlinkung https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=21125
Vicente, J.R., Kueffer, C., Richardson, D.M., Vaz, A.S., Cabral, J.A., Hui, C., Araújo, M.B., Kühn, I., Kull, C.A., Verburg, P.H., Marchante, E., Honrado, J.P. (2019):
Different environmental drivers of alien tree invasion affect different life-stages and operate at different spatial scales
For. Ecol. Manage. 433 , 263 - 275 10.1016/j.foreco.2018.10.065