title: Invasion by the Alien TreePrunus serotinaAlters Ecosystem Functions in a Temperate Deciduous Forest.
abstract: Alien invasive species can affect large areas, often with wide-ranging impacts on ecosystem structure, function, and services.Prunus serotinais a widespread invader of European temperate forests, where it tends to form homogeneous stands and limits recruitment of indigenous trees. We hypotesized that invasion byP. serotinawould be reflected in the nutrient contents of the native species' leaves and in the respiration of invaded plots as efficient resource uptake and changes in nutrient cycling byP. serotinaprobably underly its aggressive invasiveness. We combined data from 48 field plots in the forest of Compiègne, France, and data from an experiment using 96 microcosms derived from those field plots. We used general linear models to separate effects of invasion byP. serotinaon heterotrophic soil and litter respiration rates and on canopy foliar nutrient content from effects of soil chemical properties, litter quantity, litter species composition, and tree species composition. In invaded stands, average respiration rates were 5.6% higher for soil (without litter) and 32% higher for soil and litter combined. Compared to indigenous tree species,P. serotinaexhibited higher foliar N (+24.0%), foliar P (+50.7%), and lower foliar C:N (-22.4%) and N:P (-10.1%) ratios.P. serotinaaffected foliar nutrient contents of co-occuring indigenous tree species leading to decreased foliar N (-8.7 %) and increased C:N ratio (+9.5%) inFagus sylvatica, decreased foliar N:P ratio inCarpinus betulus(-13.5%) andF. sylvatica(-11.8%), and increased foliar P inPinus sylvestris(+12.3%) in invaded vs. uninvaded stands. Our results suggest thatP. serotinais changing nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon cycles to its own advantage, hereby increasing carbon turnover via labile litter, affecting the relative nutrient contents in the overstory leaves, and potentially altering the photosynthetic capacity of the long-lived indigenous broadleaved species. Uncontrolled invasion of European temperate forests byP. serotinamay affect the climate change mitigation potential of these forests in the long term, through additive effects on local nutrient cycles.
authors.affiliation: Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation Section, KU LeuvenLeuven, Belgium; Division Forest, Nature and Landscape, KU LeuvenLeuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Raf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aerts
authors.affiliation: Institut für Geographie und Geoökologie, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie Karlsruhe, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ewald
authors.affiliation: Office National des Forêts, Fontainebleau and Compiègne France.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nicolas
authors.affiliation: Office National des Forêts, Fontainebleau and Compiègne France.
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Piat
authors.affiliation: Geography, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Skowronek
authors.affiliation: Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés (EDYSAN, FRE 3498 CNRS-UPJV), Université de Picardie Jules Verne Amiens, France.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lenoir
authors.affiliation: Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés (EDYSAN, FRE 3498 CNRS-UPJV), Université de Picardie Jules Verne Amiens, France.
authors.forename: Tarek
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hattab
authors.affiliation: Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés (EDYSAN, FRE 3498 CNRS-UPJV), Université de Picardie Jules Verne Amiens, France.
authors.forename: Carol X
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Garzón-López
authors.affiliation: Geography, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Hannes
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Feilhauer
authors.affiliation: Institut für Geographie und Geoökologie, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie Karlsruhe, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmidtlein
authors.affiliation: Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre (CRI) - Edmund Mach Foundation Trento, Italy.
authors.forename: Duccio
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rocchini
authors.affiliation: Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés (EDYSAN, FRE 3498 CNRS-UPJV), Université de Picardie Jules Verne Amiens, France.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Decocq
authors.affiliation: Division Forest, Nature and Landscape, KU Leuven Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Somers
authors.affiliation: Unit Remote Sensing and Earth Observation Processes, VITO NV Mol, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ruben
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Van De Kerchove
authors.affiliation: Central Instrument Facility, Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Karolien
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Denef
authors.affiliation: Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation Section, KU Leuven Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Honnay
keywords: American black cherry; biogeochemical cycles; biological invasion; canopy foliar nutrients; exotic species; heterotrophic respiration; invasive species; litter