DOI: 10.5061/dryad.np5hqc014
title: Why are some invasive plant species so successful in nutrient-impoverished habitats in south-western Australia: a perspective from their phosphorus-acquisition strategies

description: Invasive plants are a major cause of the global biodiversity crisis; it is
 therefore crucial to understand mechanisms that contribute to their
 success. South-western Australia is a global biodiversity hotspot with
 extremely low soil phosphorus (P) concentrations. In this region, a large
 proportion of native plant species release carboxylates that mobilise soil
 P. Many widespread invasive plant species in southwestern Australia are
 arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM). We hypothesised that some of these invasive
 AM plant species exhibit similar P-acquisition strategies as native
 carboxylate-releasing P-mobilising species which allows them to thrive in
 P-impoverished soils. To test this hypothesis, we collected 23 common
 invasive species in the field and assessed their leaf manganese
 concentration [Mn], relative to that of native reference species at
 different locations, as a proxy for carboxylate release. In addition, we
 cultivated seven of the invasive species in hydroponics at different P
 supplies to measure their root carboxylate exudation. Furthermore, we
 measured leaf P concentration and photosynthetic P-use efficiency (PPUE)
 of five invasive species in the glasshouse. In the field
 investigation, almost all invasive species exhibited significantly higher
 leaf [Mn] than the negative references, which do not release carboxylates,
 indicating carboxylate release of the invasive plants. Leaf [Mn] of a few
 invasives even exceeded that of positive references, which exhibit
 significant carboxylate release, indicating substantial carboxylate
 release of these invasives. All glasshouse-grown invasive species with
 high field leaf [Mn] released root carboxylates under low P supply. Most
 of the tested invasive plant species also exhibited greater PPUE than
 native plants under low P supply. Invasive AM plant species
 exhibited root exudation of carboxylates as a P-acquisition strategy,
 which very likely allows their successful invasion of severely
 P-impoverished habitats.
description: <strong>We have submitted the raw data related to the
 publication in Functional Ecology. Dataset including Field leaf data_Tang
 et al_2024_Functional Ecology.csv and Glasshouse_root carboxylate
 data_Tang et al_2024_Fucntional Ecology.csv.</strong>
 <strong>Field_leaf data</strong>
 We measured leaf manganese concentration ([Mn]) of representative
 invasive and native species (as references) from multiple sites in the
 field, using it as a proxy for carboxylate release. The fieldwork was
 conducted at eight locations (11 sites) in southwestern Australia. There
 were seven sites that were in good condition with minimal disturbance and
 four in poor condition with remarkable disturbance. The whole study area
 experiences a Mediterranean climate characterised by dry and hot summers
 from December to February, and wet and cool winters from June to
 August. We also measured leaf phosphorus (P) and
 nitrogen (N) concentration. "n/a" indicates not measured in this
 study. A total of 34 species were selected across 11
 sites comprising 23 invasive species (<em>Arctotheca calendula,
 Asparagus asparagoides, Aira elegantissima, Briza maxima, Briza minor,
 Bromus diandrus, Bromus rubens, Bromus madritensis, Ehrharta calycina,
 Gladiolus caryophyllaceus, Gladiolus undulatus, Lupinus angustifolius,
 Lupinus albus, Lolium perenne, Monoculus monstrosus, Oxalis pes-caprae,
 Pelargonium capitatum, Senecio condylus, Trifolium angustifolium, Ursinia
 anthemoides, Vicia sativa, Vulpia bromoides</em> and<em>
 Zantedeschia aethiopica</em>) and 11 native reference species
 (<em>Banksia telmatiaea, Banksia </em><em>attenuata,
 Banksia nivea, Banksia sessilis, Conostylis aculeata, Clematis
 linearifolia, Eucalyptus astringens, Eucalyptus wandoo, Hardenbergia
 comptoniana, Macrozamia fraseri</em> and<em> Xanthorrhoea
 preissii</em>). <strong>Glasshouse_root
 carboxylate: </strong>in fresh weight (FW)
 Parallel low-P (0.5 µM P) and high-P (50 µM P) treatments were
 applied for seedlings of<em> A.</em><em> asparagoides,
 E. calycina </em>(Poaceae)<em>, G. undulatus, O. pes-caprae,
 Z. aethiopica</em> and <em>C. aculeata</em>; whereas
 <em>B. maxima </em>(Poaceae) and <em>G. caryophyllaceus
 </em>received only a single<em> </em>low-P (0.5 µM P)
 treatment. The response under low-P treatment was the primary study aim,
 but we also aimed to explore the effect of a high-P treatment on some of
 the seedlings. Hence, high-P treatments were used for some species from
 the same genus (<em>G. undulatus</em>) or family (<em>E.
 calycina</em>).<em> </em>When the seedlings had formed
 ample new roots and mature leaves for analyses (two weeks for
 <em>B.</em><em> maxima</em> and <em>G.
 caryophyllaceus</em>, four weeks for
 <em>A.</em><em> asparagoides</em>,<em> G.
 undulatus</em>, <em>O. pes-caprae</em> and <em>C.
 aculeata</em>,<em> </em>six weeks for
 <em>E.</em><em> calycina, </em>nine weeks
 for<em> Z. aethiopica</em>)<em>,</em> the plants
 were harvested.
description: # Why are some invasive plant species so successful in
 nutrient-impoverished habitats in south-western Australia: a perspective
 from their phosphorus-acquisition strategies
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.np5hqc014 ](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.np5hqc014) ## Description of the data and file structure **We have submitted the raw data related to the publication in Functional Ecology. Dataset including Field leaf data_Tang et al_2024_Functional Ecology.csv and Glasshouse_root carboxylate data_Tang et al_2024_Fucntional Ecology.csv.** **Field_leaf data** Species: Scientific name Site: Alison Baird Reserve (ABR), Bold Park (BP-GC), Invaded by *Ehrharta calycina *in Bold Park (BP-PCe), Invaded by *Pelargonium capitatum* in Bold Park (BP-PCp), Bold Park-Camel Lake (BP-CL), Dryandra Woodland National Park (DWNP), Jurien Bay-Quindalup dune (JB-Qd), Jurien Bay-Lesueur National Park (JB-LNP), John Forrest National Park (JFNP), Kogolup Lake in Beeliar Regional Park (KL), Mundy Regional Park (MRP).  Mn: manganese P: phosphorus N: nitrogen **Glasshouse_root carboxylate data**: Species: Scientific name 0.5 µM P: low phosphorus treatment, micromole 50 µM P: high phosphorus treatment, micromole Carboxylate: Total effective root carboxylates were calculated by summing all di- and tri-carboxylates on a FW basis of the roots FW: in fresh weight ## Sharing/Access information NA ## Code/Software NA