Herbivory may mediate the effects of nutrients on the dominance of alien plants

1. Numerous studies have highlighted the role of nutrient availability and fluctuations therein for invasion success of alien plants. Others also highlighted the role of herbivores in invasion success. However, how herbivory and the level and fluctuations in nutrient availability interact in driving alien plant invasion into native communities remains largely unexplored.

2. We grew eight invasive alien species as target species in pot-mesocosms with five different synthetic native communities in a three-factorial design with two levels of nutrient availability (low vs high), two levels of nutrient fluctuation (constant vs pulsed) and two levels of herbivory (with vs without).

3. The relative biomass production of the alien target plants decreased in response to an increase in nutrient availability, and increased in response to the presence of herbivores. Furthermore, herbivory could interact with changes in nutrient availability and nutrient fluctuations to affect the dominance of...