Abstract:
Invasion success is more often influenced by the nutrient availability in the
ecosystems. The growth and morphological responses of the invasive plant
species, Chromolaena odorata (Siam weed; Asteraceae) was evaluated in
three different nutrient conditions. The experimental conditions were
addition of 1g (High) and 0.25g (Medium) of 20:20:20 N: P: K mixture per
pot, once in a week and natural soil as the control without adding any
nutrients. The experiment continued for 100 days with 6 replicates.
Statistical analysis was done by using one way ANOVA method. At the end
of the experiment period, high nutrient condition significantly (P>0.05)
increased the biomass content of the plant (shoot and root dry mass, relative
growth rate, specific root length). High nutrient treatment increased relative
growth rate more than 73% compared to the control. In general, nutrient
addition significantly increased the biomass content of a plant. We
hypothesize that invasion and domination of C. odorata can be suppressed
by minimizing nutrients accumulation in invaded ecosystem as one control
mechanism.
