Invasive weed disrupts facilitation of nutrient uptake in grass-clover assemblage

Highlights

● Nutrient constraints in low-fertility soil were modified by different species combinations.

● Grass-clover assemblages benefited both species in terms of nutrient procurement.

● Interplay of competition and facilitation is demonstrated.

● An invasive weed removed essential nutrients from the grazing cycle.

Abstract

To investigate the interplay of competition and facilitation between plants in low-fertility pasture grasslands of New Zealand, we compared nutrient uptake and acquisition of key nutrients of three species from different functional groups. Combinations of Pilosella officinarum (mouse-eared hawkweed, an invasive weed), Trifolium repens (white clover, a nitrogen fixer) and Dactylis glomerata (cocksfoot, a pasture grass) were planted into a soil with low-to-deficient concentrations of key nutrients. Highest yields were achieved by the grass growing alone but, when the clover and grass had grown together, there were complementary benefits in terms of procurement of a wide range of nutrients from soil despite lower root biomass. The invasive weed negated these benefits, and soil nutrients were exploited less efficiently when Pilosella had grown alone or in a mixture with the other species. Competition from the weed removed the benefits of grass-legume coexistence. These findings are interpreted to suggest that requirements for legumes to be the main source of nitrogen in pasture grasslands may be compromised unless competitive weeds are controlled to avoid disrupted procurement of key nutrients. It is likely these constraints to nutrient procurement would similarly impact conservation grasslands.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

soil fertility / facilitation / species coexistence / weed invasion / legumes

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank to the Miss E.L. Hellaby Indigenous Grasslands Research Trust for grant funding to support ZW for his PhD stipend and operational funds, and AGLS at Lincoln University for a Summer Scholarship for RM. Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and its Member Institutions.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research reported.

Data availability statement

Raw data supporting the findings of this study are available through the website Data@Lincoln. Source data are provided with this paper.

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