U.S.-Romania Environmental Biology Research on Community Resistance and Susceptibility to Invasion Effects of Soil Microbes and Native Plant Communities on Centaurea Maculosa.

美国的目标是-罗马尼亚蒙大拿大学的Ragan Callaway和雅西生物研究所的Alfred Diaconu之间的研究项目是确定一些入侵杂草如何从其自然群落的次要组成部分变成入侵群落的压倒性优势。这将是通过研究植物地理的变化，产量和影响的化感作用和抗菌根分泌物从矢车菊（斑点矢车菊）。在罗马尼亚选定的研究地点的人群在基因型上与北美人群最接近。 研究人员希望了解为什么这种在生态上成功的北美入侵者在欧洲本土社区并不成功。 美国和罗马尼亚的研究小组将寻求与C. maculosa对根际植物与微生物相互作用的影响 他们的研究计划包括在这两个国家的种子和土壤取样，在田间植物根际添加儿茶素的实验，以及定量比较。 结果有望解释C.斑花从欧洲的从属种变成了北美的压倒性竞争优势种。 从广义上讲，这一成功可能会导致形成一种关于自然生态群落组织以及外来物种如何入侵的新理论。 实际上，这一新的知识可能有助于开发新的和实用的杂草管理措施，控制矢车菊入侵。 该植物生态学项目通过使美国和中欧的专家能够联合收割机互补人才并在共同感兴趣和能力强的领域共享研究资源，实现了推进科学知识的计划目标。 更广泛的影响包括通过在罗马尼亚合作机构的工作将美国学生介绍给国际植物生态学社区，并直接参与该项目的入侵植物实地采样和建模技术。

The goal of this U.S.-Romanian research project between Ragan Callaway of the University of Montana and Alecu Diaconu of the Biological Research Institute, in Iasi, is to determine how some invasive weeds change from minor components of their natural communities to overwhelming dominants in invaded communities. This will be accomplished by studying biogeographical variations in the output and the effects of allelopathic and antimicrobial root exudants from Centaurea maculosa (spotted knapweed). The selected study sites in Romania have populations that are closest in genotype to those in North America. The researchers hope to learn why this ecologically successful North American invader is not as successful in European native communities. The US-Romanian team will pursue answers to questions related to the ecological effect of the allelochemicals secreted by C. maculosa on plant and microbe interactions in the rhizoshpere. Their research plan includes sampling seeds and soils in both countries, experiments with catechin additions to plant rhizoshperes in the field, and quantitative comparisons. Results are expected to explain how C. maculosa changes from a subordinate species in Europe to an overwhelming competitive dominant in North America. Broadly, success may lead to the formulation of a new theory on the organization of natural ecological communities and how they are invaded by exotic species. Practically speaking, this new knowledge may facilitate development of novel and practical weed management practices for controlling knapweed invasions. This plant ecology project fulfills the program objective of advancing scientific knowledge by enabling experts in the United States and Central Europe to combine complementary talents and share research resources in areas of strong mutual interest and competence. Broader impacts include the introduction of U.S. students to the international plant ecology community through work at the Romanian partner institution and direct involvement in the project's field sampling and modeling techniques for invasive plants.