The role of substrate characteristics and temperature for potential non-native plant establishment in Maritime Antarctic ecosystems

Bokhorst, Stef; van Logtestijn, Richard; Convey, Peter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8497-9903; Aerts, Rien. 2025 The role of substrate characteristics and temperature for potential non-native plant establishment in Maritime Antarctic ecosystems. Antarctic Science, 37 (2). 87-99. 10.1017/S0954102025000045

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Text (Open Access) ©The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antarctic Science Ltd. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited. the-role-of-substrate-characteristics-and-temperature-for-potential-non-native-plant-establishment-in-maritime-antarctic-ecosystems.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Download (5MB) | Preview

Abstract/Summary

Polar ecosystems are threatened by non-native plants, and this risk will increase with climate warming. Non-native plant growth depends on Antarctic environmental conditions and substrates, but these influences are poorly quantified. Under laboratory conditions we quantified the growth of Holcus lanatus, Trifolium repens and Taraxacum officinale across nine sub-Antarctic and Maritime Antarctic substrates with varying characteristics. This included, among others, variation in carbon (0.2–27.0%), nitrogen (0.03–2.1%) and phosphorus (0.04–0.54%) contents, under simulated Antarctic conditions (2°C) and a warming scenario. Legacy effects from an established non-native chironomid midge (Eretmoptera murphyi) and non-native grasses were included. H. lanatus and T. repens grew best in organic- and nutrient-rich substrates, while T. officinale growth was poorly correlated with substrate characteristics. Warming increased plant size by one to three times, but inconsistently across species and substrates, suggesting that climate change impacts on plant growth will vary across the Maritime Antarctic. A variable response was also observed in the legacy effects of E. murphyi, while non-native grasses increased H. lanatus and T. repens plant size, but not that of T. officinale. Plant growth was positively correlated with substrate organic and phosphorus content, and this information was used to trial a novel approach to identifying sites ‘at risk’ from plant invasions in the Maritime Antarctic.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1017/S0954102025000045
ISSN:	0954-1020
Additional Keywords:	invasion risk, soil quality, grass, forb, mapping, facilitation, policy decision
Date made live:	28 Feb 2025 14:23 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/538245

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