DOI: 10.5061/dryad.3j9kd51tz
title: Interplay between native plant performance and environment shapes resistance to aquatic plant invasion

description: In the limited number of studies on biotic resistance in freshwater
 ecosystems, experimental studies have supported that native plants play a
 role in resisting exotic plant invasion, but field observations have often
 reported positive relationships between exotic and native plant
 richness.  To determine the reasons for the lack of evidence
 supporting biotic resistance in field observations, we surveyed the
 species, biomass, and coverage of exotic and native aquatic plants in 2801
 quadrats at 287 sites in various freshwater ecosystems of China and
 examined the impacts of scale and environmental factors on the
 relationships between native and exotic plant richness and performance. At
 both the site and quadrat scales, we observed a positive correlation
 between the richness of exotic and native plants. However, at the quadrat
 scale, high native plant richness was associated with a reduction in the
 biomass of exotic emergent and floating plants as well as the biomass of
 exotic submerged plants in low-nutrient water bodies. An increase in
 native plant performance, a metric that integrates the biomass and
 coverage of native plants, was associated with a decrease in both the
 richness and biomass of exotic plants at both scales. Furthermore, with
 increasing native plant performance at the quadrat scale, the richness of
 exotic plants declined more strongly in low-nutrient water bodies than in
 high-nutrient water bodies, and the decline in the biomass of exotic
 emergent and floating plants was more severe in shallow water than in deep
 water. Synthesis Our results indicate that native plant performance is
 more important than richness for resistance to invasion in freshwater
 ecosystems, and the strength of biotic resistance is related to
 environmental factors. This study highlights the importance of
 environmental variables and multiple native community features and
 invasibility metrics in field observational studies of invasion.
description: # Interplay between native plant performance and environment shapes
 resistance to aquatic plant invasion
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3j9kd51tz](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3j9kd51tz) ## Description of the data and file structure This is a dataset of field survey data for an aquatic exotic plants in China. ### Files and variables #### File: fan\_MS01.xlsx **Description:** site-level biomass of exotic plants  ##### Variables site latitude longitude habitat-type Sampling-area, unit: m2 dominant-exotic-species exotic-plant-biomass, unit: g/m2 Log10_exotic-plant-biomass，unit: g/m2 Z_native-plant-richness Z_native-plant-performance Z_trophic-level-index Z\_ water-depth-heterogeneity Z_distance-to-town, unit: km Z_habitat-area, unit: m2 Z_annual-mean-temperature, unit: °C #### File: fan\_MS02.xlsx **Description:** site-level richness of exotic plants  ##### Variables site latitude longitude habitat-type Sampling-area, unit: m2 exotic-plant-richness Z_native-plant-richness Z_native-plant-performance Z\_ water-depth-heterogeneity Z_trophic-level-index Z_annual-mean-temperature, unit: °C  Z_habitat-area, unit: m2 Z_distance-to-town, unit: km #### zFile: fan\_MS03.xlsx **Description:**  quadrat-level richness of exotic plants ##### Variables site latitude longitude exotic-plant-richness habitat-type native-community-types  Z_native-plant-richness Z_native-plant-performance Z\_ water-depth,unit: cm Z_trophic-level-index Z_annual-mean-temperature, unit: °C Z_distance-to-town,unit: km #### File: fan\_MS04.xlsx **Description:** quadrat-level biomass of exotic submerged plants ##### Variables site latitude longitude habitat-type Log10_exotic-submerged-biomass dominant-exotic-species native-community-types  Z_native-plant-richness Z_native-plant-performance Z\_ water-depth Z_trophic-level-index Z_annual-mean-temperature  Z_distance-to-town #### File: fan\_MS05.xlsx **Description:** quadrat-level biomass of exotic emergent and free-floating plants ##### Variables site latitude longitude exotic-emergent-floating-biomass Log10_exotic-emergent-floating-biomass native-community-types dominant-exotic-species Z_native-plant-richness Z_trophic-level-index Z\_ water-depth Z_distance-to-town Z_annual-mean-temperature  Z_native-plant-performance