부산대학교 도서관

Glossy buckthorn, Rhamnus frangula L., is a tall shrub or small tree native to Eurasia and North Africa that aggressively invades native plant communities in eastern North America. Field studies suggest that the chief threat posed to native plant communities by R. frangula invasion is shading from the dense canopy that this species typically produces. We examined if allelopathy, the production of chemical compounds that affect growth and establishment of neighboring plant species, also plays a role in the invasion of plant communities by R. frangula. Extracts of R. frangula leaf and root tissue were applied to seeds of two target plant species, lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and radish (Raphanus sativus L.), in laboratory bioassays. We observed no evidence for inhibition of seed germination or early seedling growth of target plant species at any concentration or source of R. frangula tissue extract. Instead, the majority of significant treatment effects, particularly on seedling growth, appeared to be stimulatory rather than inhibitory. We conclude that allelopathy through the production of herbicidal compounds does not appear to be a significant mechanism for invasion of plant communities by R. frangula.