No performance reduction at the present northern edge of Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. invasion range

2014

Plant populations at range edges may exhibit reduction of performances and fitness. In the case of biological invasions, such a reduction could be associated with a slowing down of the spread and explain the non-naturalization of a species outside its present invasion range. Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) is an ideal model to investigate such processes, since it is invasive in France but not naturalized in northern countries, such as Belgium and the Netherlands. In this study, we test if the performances of ragweed populations vary among different invasion zones. Three populations were selected in each of four invasion zones in Western Europe: 1) French invasion area; 2) northe…