TY - JOUR

T1 - Elevational distribution limits of non-native species

T2 - Combining observational and experimental evidence

AU - Haider, Sylvia

AU - Alexander, Jake M.

AU - Kueffer, Christoph

N1 - We thank P.J. Edwards, H. Dietz and L. Trepl for helpful comments during the project and four anonymous reviewers for their comments that improved earlier drafts of the manuscript. We are grateful to the Grassland Group and the Chair of Plant Nutrition of the Technische Universität München for providing their climate chambers and giving helpful advice. SH was funded by graduate scholar ships from the German Academic Exchange Service, Universität Bayern e. V. and the HWP-program of the Technische Universität München.

PY - 2011/12/1

Y1 - 2011/12/1

N2 - Background: In temperate mountains, most non-native plant species reach their distributional limit somewhere along the elevational gradient. However, it is unclear if growth limitations can explain upper range limits and whether phenotypic plasticity or genetic changes allow species to occupy a broad elevational gradient.Aims: We investigated how non-native plant individuals from different elevations responded to growing season temperatures, which represented conditions at the core and margin of the elevational distributions of the species.Methods: We recorded the occurrence of nine non-native species in the Swiss Alps and subsequently conducted a climate chamber experiment to assess growth rates of plants from different elevations under different temperature treatments.Results: The elevational limit observed in the field was not related to the species' temperature response in the climate chamber experiment. Almost all species showed a similar level of reduction in growth rates under lower temperatures independent of the upper elevational limit of the species' distribution. For two species we found indications for genetic differentiation among plants from different elevations.Conclusions: We conclude that factors other than growing season temperatures, such as extreme events or winter mortality, might shape the elevational limit of non-native species, and that ecological filtering might select for genotypes that are phenotypically plastic.

AB - Background: In temperate mountains, most non-native plant species reach their distributional limit somewhere along the elevational gradient. However, it is unclear if growth limitations can explain upper range limits and whether phenotypic plasticity or genetic changes allow species to occupy a broad elevational gradient.Aims: We investigated how non-native plant individuals from different elevations responded to growing season temperatures, which represented conditions at the core and margin of the elevational distributions of the species.Methods: We recorded the occurrence of nine non-native species in the Swiss Alps and subsequently conducted a climate chamber experiment to assess growth rates of plants from different elevations under different temperature treatments.Results: The elevational limit observed in the field was not related to the species' temperature response in the climate chamber experiment. Almost all species showed a similar level of reduction in growth rates under lower temperatures independent of the upper elevational limit of the species' distribution. For two species we found indications for genetic differentiation among plants from different elevations.Conclusions: We conclude that factors other than growing season temperatures, such as extreme events or winter mortality, might shape the elevational limit of non-native species, and that ecological filtering might select for genotypes that are phenotypically plastic.

KW - Biology

KW - alien species

KW - biological invasions

KW - climate chamber experiment

KW - elevational gradient

KW - European Alps

KW - genetic differentiation

KW - growth rates

KW - phenotypic plasticity

KW - plant invasions

KW - Alien Species

KW - biological invasions

KW - climate chamber experiment

KW - elevational gradient

KW - European Alps

KW - genetic differentiation

KW - growth rate

KW - phenotypic plasticity

KW - plan invasions

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84864693935&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/27b01912-0996-32be-b1ff-21925ee201bb/

U2 - 10.1080/17550874.2011.637973

DO - 10.1080/17550874.2011.637973

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:84864693935

VL - 4

SP - 363

EP - 371

JO - Plant Ecology and Diversity

JF - Plant Ecology and Diversity

SN - 1755-0874

IS - 4

ER -