PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Judit Sonkoly
AU  - Orsolya Valkó
AU  - Nóra Balogh
AU  - Laura Godó
AU  - András Kelemen
AU  - Réka Kiss
AU  - Tamás Miglécz
AU  - Edina Tóth
AU  - Katalin Tóth
AU  - Béla Tóthmérész
AU  - Péter Török
TI  - Germination response of invasive plants to soil burial depth and litter accumulation is species specific
AID  - 10.1101/2020.01.13.904227
DP  - 2020 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2020.01.13.904227
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/01/13/2020.01.13.904227.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/01/13/2020.01.13.904227.full
AB  - Questions Plant invasions are considered among the biggest threats to biodiversity worldwide. In a full-factorial greenhouse experiment we analysed the effect of soil burial depth and litter cover on the germination of invasive plants. We hypothesised that (i) burial depth and litter cover affect the germination of the studied species, (ii) the effects of burial and litter cover interact with each other, and (iii) the effects are species-specific, but dependent on seed size.Methods We tested the germination and seedling growth of 11 herbaceous invasive species in a full-factorial experiment using four levels of seed burial depths and litter cover. We analysed the effect of burial, litter cover, and their interactions on germination, seedling length and biomass across species and at the species level.Results Soil burial depth and litter cover had a significant effect on the germination of the studied species, but there were considerable differences between species. We observed a general trend of species with bigger seeds being not or less seriously affected by soil burial and litter cover than smaller-seeded species. Correlations between seed weight and effect sizes mostly confirmed this general trend, but not in the case of soil burial.Conclusions Our findings confirmed that seed size is a major driver of species’ response to litter cover and to the combined effects of litter cover and soil burial, but there is no general trend regarding the response to soil burial depth. Despite its very small seeds the germination of Cynodon dactylon was not affected by soil burial. The germination of Ambrosia artemisiifolia was hampered by both soil burial and litter cover despite its relatively large seeds. Thus, specific information on species’ response to burial depth and litter accumulation is crucial when planning management or restoration in areas threatened by plant invasions.