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Updated: Dec 29, 2025
09:17
Investigation of Plant Interactions Across Common Mycorrhizal Networks Using Rotated Cores
Published on: March 26, 2019
13.1K
Highly invasive tree species are more dependent on mutualisms
Jaime Moyano1, Mariano A Rodriguez-Cabal1,2, Martin A Nuñez1
1Grupo de Ecología de Invasiones, INIBIOMA, CONICET, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Quintral 1250, San Carlos de Bariloche, CP 8400, Argentina.
Ecology
|February 1, 2020
Summary
Invasive species may rely more on mutualisms, like ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF), than previously thought. Greater dependence on EMF, especially for small-seeded species, can enhance their invasive spread capacity.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Plant Biology
- Invasive Species Research
Background:
- The factors determining why some species become invasive while others do not are not fully understood.
- A prevailing ecological hypothesis suggests that invasive species should exhibit less reliance on mutualistic relationships to avoid constraints imposed by partner availability.
- The genus Pinus (pine trees) exhibits varying degrees of invasiveness, negatively correlated with seed size, and forms obligate mutualistic associations with ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between mycorrhizal dependence and the invasiveness of Pinus species.
- To test the hypothesis that reduced reliance on mutualisms facilitates species invasiveness.
- To determine if plant growth response to EMF can serve as a proxy for mycorrhizal dependence in assessing invasiveness.
Main Methods:
- Assessed the responsiveness of 34 Pinus species to EMF using 1,206 published contrasts.
- Defined mycorrhizal dependence based on plant growth response to EMF.
- Correlated EMF responsiveness data with known invasiveness data for Pinus species, considering seed size as a factor.
Main Results:
- Contrary to expectations, more invasive Pinus species exhibited a greater dependence on EMF mutualisms.
- Smaller-seeded invasive species showed higher mycorrhizal dependence, with their seedling growth benefiting significantly more from EMF.
- Larger-seeded species displayed lower dependence on EMF, potentially linked to their establishment strategy in stressful conditions but limited dispersal.
Conclusions:
- The study challenges the long-held ecological belief that greater reliance on mutualisms reduces a species' propensity to invade.
- Increased dependence on EMF can be a strategy for small-seeded invasive species, facilitating establishment and spread.
- Greater reliance on mutualists can, under certain conditions, enhance a species' capacity for invasive spread.
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