Effects of N:P Ratio and Nutrient Level on the Competition between Invasive Alternanthera philoxeroides and Native Oenanthe javanica

Abstract

This study examined the effects of N:P ratio and nutrient level on the competition between invasive Alternanthera philoxeroides and native Oenanthe javanica in terms of morphological and physiological traits and the relative dominance index (RDI). In the experiment, A. philoxeroides was grown in mixture with O. javanica at three N:P supply ratios (1,10,100) combined with three levels of nutrient supply. The results suggested that the morphological and physiological traits of invasive and native species were both significantly affected by N:P ratio and nutrient supply level. The total biomass of both species was maximal under the treatment of lowest N:P ratio and highest nutrient supply, and A. philoxeroides had higher total biomass than O. javanica in every treatment. A. philoxeroides had higher plasticity than O. javanica on total biomass, R/S, SLA, which had sensitive response to the changing nutrient conditions. Meanwhile, the RDI of A. philoxeroides under high nutrient supply was higher than that under low nutrient supply, which showed that high nutrient supply could promote the invasion of A. philoxeroides while P-limitation (high N:P ratio) may prevent the successful invasion of A. philoxeroides under the lower nutrient supply.