Pennisetum Hydridum’s Potential for Controlling Invasive Chromolaena Odorata

Sustainability

Guo-Ming Quan¹  Hui Liu²  Qiu-Yuan Xu³  Rong-Hua Li³  Dan Wang³  Jia-En Zhang³ 

[1] Department of Urban Construction Engineering, Guangzhou City Polytechnic, Guangzhou 510650, China;Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China;The Department of Ecology, College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510650, China;

关键词: competition mechanisms;    total relative yield;    competitive balance index;    relative yield;    shade tolerance;    root/shoot ratio;   

DOI  :  10.3390/su11215990

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The exotic Chromolaena odorata is one of the most destructive invasive plant species in South China, and hence an efficient and sustainable control method is urgent. One method, replacement control, which eliminates harmful plants by introducing another competitive plant, is being used increasingly for controlling invasive plants. To test the potential of Pennisetum hydridum to control C. odorata, a series of polyculture experiments with different proportions of the two species was conducted. Competitive indices, plant morphological and physiological traits, and soil nutrient contents were measured to test the impacts of P. hydridum on C. odorata. The presence of P. hydridum significantly suppressed growth of C. odorata, and P. hydridum was not sensitive to the presence of C. odorata. Moreover, increased root/shoot ratios of P. hydridum enhanced its underground competitive ability, and competition between the two species resulted in remarkable reductions of soil nutrient contents which would further decrease the competitiveness of the invasive C. odorata. In summary, our results suggest that P. hydridum is a prospective candidate to control C. odorata.

【 授权许可】

Unknown