Short term impacts provide a management window for minimizing invasions from bioenergy crops

Authors: West, Natalie; MATLAGA, DAVID - Susquehanna University; MUTHUKRISHNANAN, RANJAN - University Of Minnesota; SPYREAS, GREG - Illinois Natural History Survey; FORESTER, JAMES - University Of Minnesota; JORDAN, NICHOLAS - University Of Minnesota; Davis, Adam

Submitted to: Frontiers in Plant Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/25/2017
Publication Date: 5/17/2017
Citation: West, N.M., Matlaga, D.P., Muthukrishnanan, R., Spyreas, G.R., Forester, J.D., Jordan, N.R., Davis, A.S. 2017. Short term impacts provide a management window for minimizing invasions from bioenergy crops. Frontiers in Plant Science. 8:767.

Interpretive Summary: Managing intentional species introductions requires evaluating potential ecological risks. However, it is difficult to weigh costs and benefits, as preliminary data about potential interactions between novel species and receiving communities is often scarce. In anticipation of the expansion of perennial bioenergy cultivation, we experimentally introduced two species of Miscanthus that are candidate bioenergy crops into old field and flood-plain forest habitats to evaluate their establishment success and impact on native communities. We followed these controlled introductions and the species composition of the receiving communities over a five-year period. Few introductions survived in the floodplain forest habitat. In old field habitats, plant survival ranged from 30 to 40%, and increased with age. However, there was no evidence of bioenergy species effects on community structure. These results suggest that Miscanthus species could conceivably establish readily outside cultivated fields in some surrounding landscape habitats, but there will likely be a lag in potential impacts on those receiving communities. Local invasions by Miscanthus sinensis and Miscanthus sacchariflorus in the southeastern U.S. and Canada display the potential for Miscanthus species to develop problematic populations. However, weak short-term community impacts provide a management window in which to detect and eradicate species footholds. Long-term monitoring and eradication plans would be important for successfully minimizing invasions from these bioenergy crops.

Technical Abstract: In anticipation of the expansion of perennial bioenergy cultivation, we experimentally introduced Miscanthus sinensis and Miscanthus × giganteus (two non-native candidate bioenergy species) into two different non-crop habitats (old field and flood-plain forest) to evaluate their establishment success and impact on ambient local communities. We followed these controlled introductions and the composition dynamics of the receiving communities over a five-year period. For the bioenergy species, although seed persistence and seedling emergence was similar between the two habitats, we found strong differences in adult survival and reproduction potential. Few introductions survived in the floodplain forest habitat, and this mortality precluded analyses of potential impacts in that system. In old field habitats, proportional survival ranged from 0.3-0.4, and plant survival and growth increased with age. However, there was no evidence of bioenergy species effects on community richness or evenness or strong impacts on the resident old field community across five years. These results suggest that Miscanthus species could conceivably establish readily outside cultivated fields in some surrounding landscape habitats, but there will likely be a lag in potential impacts on those receiving communities. Local invasions by M. sinensis and M. sacchariflorus in the southeastern U.S. and Canada display the potential for Miscanthus species to develop problematic populations. However, weak short-term community impacts provide a management window in which to detect and eradicate species footholds. Long-term monitoring and eradication plans would be important for successfully minimizing invasions from these bioenergy crops.