Litter decomposition of the invasive Potentilla anserina in an invaded and non-invaded freshwater environment of North Patagonia

CUASSOLO FLORENCIA; DÍAZ VILLANUEVA VERÓNICA; BEATRIZ MODENUTTI

BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2020

1387-3547

Potentilla anserina is a common invasive species of Patagonian wetlands. Althoughthis species is commonly found in temporary habitats, where it establishes during thedry phase, the littoral zones of lakes are also susceptible, as water fluctuations makethis habitat extremely variable in terms of water availability. Decay rates and nutrientrelease of P. anserina were compared with two native macrophyte species, Eleocharispachycarpa and Schoenoplectus californicus, in two different freshwater environments:a temporary wetland, where P. anserina develops important stands, and the littoralzone of a lake not yet colonized by the invasive plant. Our results showed that bothenvironments differed in nutrient concentrations, being higher in the temporarywetland. However, the invasive species decomposed faster in the littoral zone of thelake, due to the presence of the amphipod Hyallela patagonica in the litter bags. Theinvasive plant litter decomposed twice faster than the native species. The species withhighest N content, E. pachycarpa, released more N in leachates. After 71 days ofdecomposition, P. anserina loss more C and gained more N than the native species,while the P content remained constant across the three species. Our resultsdemonstrated that the introduction of an invasive species as P. anserina into newhabitats would contribute with dissolved and particulate organic matter impactingnutrient cycling and invertebrate assemblages with consequences to the entireecosystem