Allelopathic Effect of Lantana camara L. on Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Pinus roxburghiiSargent

摘要

The effects of woody weed invasions on the structure of Pinus roxburghii stand/plantation can threaten ecosystem integrity. Such invasive weeds are often responsible for resource utilization through competition and final suppression of the associatedvegetation. Allelopathy is an important strategy that increases the competitive ability of a species to influence the germination or growth or increases the mortality of individuals of another species by releasing one or more chemical compounds (Fuerst and Putnam, 1983; Tilman, 1988). The biological attributes contributing to extend of Lantana as an invader species include: fitness homeostasis, phenotypic plasticity, dispersal, benefits from destructive foraging activities, widespread geographic range,vegetative reproduction, fire tolerance, better competitive ability compared to native flora and allelopathy. It has been emphasized that ecosystem level consequences of Lantana invasion, particularly on the biodiversity of native flora, are little understood and studies are needed to fulfill this knowledge gap (Sharma et al., 2005). Therefore, keeping in view the ecological and economic importance of P. roxburghii, the present study was undertaken to assess the allelopathic effect of L. camara on germination as well as seedling growth of P. roxburghii.