Clonal integration enhances performance of an invasive grass

While many clonal plants are highly successful invaders, not all clonal plants share resources, often making the contribution of clonal integration (i.e., the translocation of resources among ramets) to invasion unclear. To determine if photosynthate translocation augments performance of emerging daughter ramets for a globally invasive grass (Imperata cylindrica), we combined a 13CO2 pulse-chase experiment with a greenhouse experiment manipulating light levels and rhizome attachment. Model simulations were also used to determine if clonal integration facilitated photosynthate translocation, if the performance of daughter ramets was enhanced by clonal integration, and if shaded ramets benefited relatively more from transferred photosynthate. We found that acropetal photosynthate transfer occurred between all sampled parent-daughter ramet pairs and that this resource sharing led to higher biomass and tiller production when rhizomes between parent and daughter ramets were intact. We also f...