Life-history variation in Crepis tectorum (Asteraceae)

Populations of the monocarpic plant Crepis tectorum were grown in a series of uniform environments to test the hypothesis that weedy populations are more r-selected than populations from a more natural habitat. Weedy populations exhibited a combination of r- and K-selected traits. The relatively rapid growth, the potential for a summer annual habit, and the relatively high fecundity that characterized at least one of the two weed populations studied were considered as r-selected traits favored in habitats of unpredictable duration. However, high levels of competition from other weedy species or from the crop in arable fields may explain at least some presumably K-selected traits observed in the weedy populations, e.g. relatively large seeds and late flowering in the summer. Results indicated that stress due to abiotic factors (strong winds, desiccation and nutrient deficiency) has been a more important selective factor than r- or K-selection, in non-weedy populations from calcareous grasslands ("alvars") on the Baltic islands.