Growth performance and emergence of invasive alien Rumex confertus in different soil types

Abstract

Rumex confertus is known to be one of the most serious invasive weed species infesting meadows, pastures and ruderal lands throughout the Central Europe. Rumex confertus was grown in pot experiments using 8 soil types at 5 concentrations of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Based on harvest data, the variables, seedlings emergence, root: shoot (R: S) ratio, N and P concentration, chlorophyll content, Relative Colimitation Index (RCI) and dry matter allocation to plant components, were determined. N and P addition stimulated the growth of plants in different soils, as reflected by a significant increase in seedling growth parameters such as total plant biomass and shoot biomass. Across all soil types, emergence of seedlings was negatively affected by very high N, but positively affected by increased P availability. This study indicates that Dystric Arenosol, Entic Podzol, Brunic Arenosol and Calcaric Leptosol are unfavorable for R. confertus growth, excluding R. confertus completely. Moreover, evidence suggests that plant growth is limited by both N and P, therefore R. confertus could be controlled by reducing available N and P content in the soil.