Biological invasion causes huge impacts on ecosystem and human society. Knowing what kind of species are more invasive can help us establish effective prevention program. But traditional trait comparative studies usually have different conclusions. To solve this inconsistence, we should consider the invasion process and traits’ roles in invasion, especially the competition with native species. Limited by technique, seldom research studied invaders’ root traits and root competition. In this study, three plant species including invasive herb Cassia atala, naturalized plant Corchorus capsularis and native plant Desmodium reticulatum were selected and grown together in the transparent plant growth system to in situ compare their competition ability dynamically.
Results/Conclusions
Our results showed that C. atala’s roots grew much faster than C. capsularis and D. reticulatum in all three weeks. C. atala had significantly larger total root length, root volume, root surface area than C. capsular and D. reticulatum, but there were no significant differences between the latter two species on these three traits. C. atala demonstrated an apparent root competition advantage compared with two other species. Competing with C. capsularis or D. reticulatum didn’t cause C. atala significant biomass decrease. While C. atala had huge impacts on C. capsularis and D. reticulatum. Especially competing with two C. atala individuals made C. capsularis and D. reticulatumabout 77% and 81% total biomass decrease respectively. Rapid root growth and large root system may help invaders outcompete natives. We should extend this research by combining with other techniques, like minirhizotrons and X-ray computed tomography, to investigate invasive plants’ root in future. Our finding also indicates that we should also consider root traits of potential invasive plants to prevent biological invasion.