Geographic variation of litter chemistry and palatability in an invasive plant versus its native competitor

Aim: Latitudinal variation in biotic interactions is recognized as a driver underlying variation in plant invasion success and therefore an important issue in conservation biogeography. However, previous studies have mainly focused on interactions between living plants and herbivores, whereas litter traits and detritivory have been hardly studied along latitude or compared between native and invasive plants. Our aim was to compare latitudinal variation in leaf-litter chemistry and palatability to detritivores between invasive and native plants, and investigate which chemical traits determine detritivory and whether they are climate-driven.
Location: China.
Taxa: Spartina alterniflora, Phragmites australis, Porcellio laevis, Chiromantes dehaani.
Methods: We combined field surveys with laboratory experiments to compare latitudinal variation in litter chemistry between the widespread invasive Spartina alterniflora and its native competitor Phragmites australis across their co-occurring ran..., , Please see README.docx for details.

研究目的：生物交互的纬度梯度变化被认为是驱动植物入侵成功差异的关键因素之一，亦是保护生物地理学领域的重要研究议题。然而，既往研究多聚焦于活植物与植食性动物间的交互作用，针对沿纬度梯度开展凋落物性状与腐食性取食相关研究，或是对比本土与入侵植物此类差异的工作仍较为匮乏。本研究旨在比较入侵与本土植物的叶片凋落物化学性质及其对腐食者的适口性的纬度梯度差异，并探究哪些化学性状决定了腐食性取食，以及这些性状是否受气候调控。
研究区域：中国。
研究类群：互花米草（Spartina alterniflora）、芦苇（Phragmites australis）、光滑卷甲虫（Porcellio laevis）、相手蟹（Chiromantes dehaani）。
研究方法：本研究结合野外调查与室内实验，对广泛分布的入侵植物互花米草（Spartina alterniflora）与其本土竞争者芦苇（Phragmites australis）在二者共同分布区域内的凋落物化学性状的纬度梯度差异进行比较……详细信息请参阅README.docx文件。