TY - JOUR
T1 - Seedling and clonal recruitment of the invasive tree Psidium cattleianum
T2 - Implications for management of native Hawaiian forests
AU - Foster Huenneke, Laura
AU - Vitousek, Peter M.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by a grant from the National Geographic Society. The research staff of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, especially Charles and Danielle Stone, Linda Cuddihy, and Steve Anderson, have provided logistic support as well as invaluable discussion and insights. Joyce Jacobson collected the phenological data and Melanie Florence supervised the germination tests. We also thank L. Loope, D. Mueller-Dombois, and L. Walker for useful discussions. C. Stone, L. Cuddihy, and C. Smith provided helpful comments on an earlier draft.
PY - 1990
Y1 - 1990
N2 - Non-native plants present serious management problems in many preserves. Strawberry guava Psidium cattleianum (Myrtaceae), a small tree and aggressive invader of tropical areas, is rapidly spreading through many Hawaiian forests including those of the two US national parks in Hawaii. Feral pigs and non-native birds disperse Psidium seeds; pigs also create soil disturbances that may enhance the tree's spread. Our study of guava's reproductive biology focussed on its dependence on non-native animals. We found that the abundantly produced seed germinated rapidly under a wide range of conditions, without scarification. Psidium seedlings occur on the same substrates as do native seedlings, usually on undisturbed sites. Both seedlings and clonally produced suckers are common, but suckers contribute greater leaf areas. Guava's clonal growth may partially explain its success in dominating native forests. Apparently germination and establishment do not depend on animal dispersal, or on disturbances created by pigs; thus, control of the plant cannot rest entirely on control of non-native animals.
AB - Non-native plants present serious management problems in many preserves. Strawberry guava Psidium cattleianum (Myrtaceae), a small tree and aggressive invader of tropical areas, is rapidly spreading through many Hawaiian forests including those of the two US national parks in Hawaii. Feral pigs and non-native birds disperse Psidium seeds; pigs also create soil disturbances that may enhance the tree's spread. Our study of guava's reproductive biology focussed on its dependence on non-native animals. We found that the abundantly produced seed germinated rapidly under a wide range of conditions, without scarification. Psidium seedlings occur on the same substrates as do native seedlings, usually on undisturbed sites. Both seedlings and clonally produced suckers are common, but suckers contribute greater leaf areas. Guava's clonal growth may partially explain its success in dominating native forests. Apparently germination and establishment do not depend on animal dispersal, or on disturbances created by pigs; thus, control of the plant cannot rest entirely on control of non-native animals.
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U2 - 10.1016/0006-3207(90)90086-5
DO - 10.1016/0006-3207(90)90086-5
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0025693433
SN - 0006-3207
VL - 53
SP - 199
EP - 211
JO - Biological Conservation
JF - Biological Conservation
IS - 3
ER -