Effects of different nitrogen forms and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on competitive ability of invasive alien plant Bidens alba

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2025.0297

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can enhance the competitive ability of invasvie plant against native species, which is likely influenced by soil nitrogen (N) forms. In the context of increasing N deposition, exploring the effects of AMF on the growth and competitiveness of invasive plants under different forms of N addition can enhance our understanding of how invader adapts to soil N patterns shaped by N deposition.

Methods A common garden experiment was conducted using the invasive plant Bidens alba and the native species Emilia sonchifolia. The experimental design included two planting regimes (monoculture and mixture), three N treatments (ammonium nitrogen addition, nitrate nitrogen addition, and no N addition), and two microbial treatments (with or without AMF). By comparing the plant biomass, mycorrhizal growth responses, and competitive responses of total plant biomass among different treatments, this study explores the effects of different forms of N and AMF on the competitive ability of B. alba.

Important findings Under all N treatments, AMF significantly increased the biomass of the native plant E. sonchifolia. Specifically, when grown in monoculture with nitrate addition, AMF exhibited the greatest promoting effect on its biomass, indicating high mycorrhizal dependence in the native species, which is also influenced by soil N forms. AMF did not show a significant impact on the invasive plant B. alba under either monoculture or mixed planting. The greatest enhancement of the competitive response of B. alba by AMF occurred under no N addition, but no evidence was found that AMF could help the invasive plant adapt to different forms of nitrogen to maintain its competitiveness. This may be related to its strong mycorrhizal autoregulation ability. The results suggest that the invasive plant B. alba thrive under high N deposition conditions through direct nutrient uptake pathways and its mycorrhizal autoregulation ability. This study demonstrates that plant-AMF symbiosis is influenced by N addition and N forms, highlighting the importance of N forms in shaping the mycorrhizal responses of invasive plants and deepening our understanding of the role of AMF in growth and competitive response of invasive plants under future N deposition scenarios.

Key words: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, nitrogen deposition, nitrogen form, plant invasion, competitive response

ZOU Ji-Kai, WU Jia-Yi, GU Yun-Yi, CHEN Bao-Ming. Effects of different nitrogen forms and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on competitive ability of invasive alien plant Bidens alba[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2026, 50(3): 722-730.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2025.0297

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2026/V50/I3/722

Figures/Tables 6

Table 1 Results of two-way ANOVA for the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and nitrogen (N) on the total biomass of Bidens alba and Emilia sonchifolia

处理 Treatment	自由度 df	白花鬼针草 B. alba				一点红 E. sonchifolia
处理 Treatment	自由度 df	单种 Monoculture		混种 Mixture		单种 Monoculture		混种 Mixture
		F	p	F	p	F	p	F	p
AMF	1	0.147	0.704	7.537	0.010	251.740	<0.001	149.333	<0.001
N	2	3.235	0.054	16.456	<0.001	7.060	0.003	3.501	0.043
AMF × N	2	0.501	0.611	0.985	0.385	8.259	0.001	4.041	0.028

Fig. 1 Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and nitrogen (N) addition on the total biomass of Bidens alba and Emilia sonchifolia (mean ± SE, n = 6). +AMF, AMF treatment; -AMF, non-AMF treatment. A, Monocultured B. alba. B, Mixtured B. alba. C, Monocultured E. sonchifolia. D, Mixtured E. sonchifolia. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences between treatments (p < 0.05). CK, control (no N addition).

Table 2 Results of two-way ANOVA for the effects of species and nitrogen (N) on mycorrhizal growth response of Bidens alba and Emilia sonchifolia

处理 Treatment	自由度 df	单种 Monoculture		混种 Mixture
处理 Treatment	自由度 df	F	p	F	p
Species	1	61.268	<0.001	48.516	<0.001
N	2	3.558	0.041	1.097	0.347
Species × N	2	3.150	0.057	4.091	0.027

Fig. 2 Mycorrhizal growth response of Bidens alba and Emilia sonchifolia under nitrogen addition treatments (means ± SE, n = 6). A, Monoculture. B, Mixture. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences between treatments (p < 0.05). CK, control (no N addition).

Table 3 Results of two-way ANOVA for the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), nitrogen addition (N), and their interaction on competitive response of Bidens alba and Emilia sonchifolia

处理 Treatment	自由度 df	白花鬼针草 B. alba		一点红 E. sonchifolia
处理 Treatment	自由度 df	F	p	F	p
AMF	1	4.295	0.047	4.113	0.052
N	2	2.737	0.081	1.190	0.318
AMF × N	2	2.744	0.081	1.054	0.361

Fig. 3 Competitive response of total biomass of Bidens alba and Emilia sonchifolia under arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and nitrogen (N) treatments (means ± SE, n = 6). +AMF, AMF treatment. -AMF, non-AMF treatment. A, Bidens alba. B, Emilia sonchifolia. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences between treatments (p < 0.05).

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