IMPACTS OF NONNATIVE PLANT SPECIES ON PRODUCTION AND DIVERSITY IN THE FRONT RANGE OF COLORADO

摘要

Nonnative plant species ue considered one, of the greatest threats to biodiversity yet we still are unable to predict how production and diversity of a community will change once m species his invided Ponderosa pine wood lands in the Front Range of Colorido are ideil for studying the impacts of nonnative plants on production and species richness We selected 5 sites thing the northern Front range with varying proportions of nonnative and native species and compaired understoru production and species richness along the gradient of nonnative species dominance total species production is positively and significantly related to total species richness and total species production increased significantly with increasing nonmative species richness There was a negative relationship between native and nonmative species production and there was no relationship between nonnative species richness and native species richness This study demonstrates the complex nature of species richness and productivity relationships and should serve as a starting point for future research in which a variety of other valuebles are considered