Aboveground and belowground enemies and the invasion success of plants: experimental tests in the US and China

研究植物入侵的传统方法对成功和广泛入侵的机制的了解有限。大量的评论表明，需要一个明确的地理实验，考虑各种生物的相互作用，包括多个种群的入侵植物从其本地和引进的范围，并利用多个植物物种从每个范围提供适当的生态环境。该项目将建立在正在进行的乌桕研究的基础上，乌桕是一种在美国东南部高度入侵的物种，通过同时操纵该物种当前地理范围内入侵和本地部分的多种生物相互作用。在美国和中国的田间和温室实验将用于调查地上（专家和通才食草动物，叶面真菌）和地下（病原真菌，真菌，食草动物）的相互作用，在确定乌桕树的成功。该项目的智力价值在于，它将提高对导致引进物种成功或失败的机制的理解，以及这些机制在入侵物种地理范围的本地和新部分中的相对重要性。入侵物种的巨大和日益增长的经济影响有助于本项目产生更广泛的影响;更好地了解有助于入侵物种成功的机制将有助于指导土地和资源管理人员。其他更广泛的影响包括研究生和本科生的培训，以及与四所中国机构的科学家的重要国际合作。该奖项部分由国际科学与工程办公室资助。

Traditional approaches to studying plant invasions have produced limited insights into the mechanisms underlying successful and widespread invasions. A wealth of reviews has indicated a need for biogeographically explicit experiments that consider a variety of biotic interactions, that include multiple populations of the invasive plant from its native and introduced range, and that utilize multiple plant species from each range to provide appropriate ecological context. This project will build on ongoing studies of the Chinese tallow tree, a species that is highly invasive in the southeast U.S., by simultaneously manipulating multiple biotic interactions in both invasive and native portions of the species' current geographic range. Field and greenhouse experiments in the US and China will be used to investigate the roles of aboveground (specialist and generalist herbivores, foliar fungi) and belowground (pathogenic fungi, mycorrhizae, herbivores) interactions in determining tallow tree success. The intellectual merit of this project is that it will enhance understanding of mechanisms that contribute to the success, or failure, of introduced species, and the relative importance of those mechanisms in native and new portions of the geographic range of an invasive species. The substantial and growing economic impact of invasive species contributes to the broader impact of this project; better understanding of mechanisms that contribute to the success of invasive species will help guide land and resource managers. Other broader impacts include training of graduate and undergraduate students, and a significant international collaboration with scientists at four Chinese institutions.This award is funded in part by the Office of International Science and Engineering.