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Harvard Forest REU Symposium Abstract 2016
- Title: A Comparison of Functional and Fitness Traits of Alliaria petiolata Along a Forest Gradient
- Author: Sydney-Alyce L Bourget (University of Georgia)
- Abstract:
Alliaria petiolata, commonly known as garlic mustard, is an invasive herb that has been spreading throughout the United States for over 150 years. In recent decades, garlic mustard has begun to invade the intact forest understory communities of eastern North America. The expansion of garlic mustard’s invasive range into novel habitats is a great concern as garlic mustard exudes a chemical compound that inhibits the growth of essential soil fungi. The objective of this study was to determine whether garlic mustard populations located along a forest gradient exhibited different functional and fitness traits. We also sought to determine the average height and fruit body yield between these populations over time. To conduct this study an observational field experiment was set up in which the traits of garlic mustard populations located within the edge of a forest, intermediate forest, and forest understory were measured. These traits include height, number of leaf nodes, and reproductive siliques. Based upon preliminary data analyses, garlic mustard populations found within the edge habitats exhibited, on average, greater heights, leaf nodes, and reproductive siliques than any of the other microhabitats observed. Garlic mustard populations in the intermediate sites exhibited the next greatest heights, leaf nodes, and reproductive siliques, while the forest population produced the shortest plants with the fewest siliques on average. This data along with previous data collected would suggest that a source-sink dynamic is occurring in which edge populations are sourcing propagules into the forest understory.
- Research Category: Invasive Plants, Pests & Pathogens
