AUTHOR=Khan Nasrullah , Ullah Rafi , Alamri Saud S. , Alwasel Yasmeen A. , AL-Hashimi Abdulrahman , Abdel-Maksoud Mostafa A. , Okla Mohammad K. , AbdElgawad Hamada 

TITLE=Environment-Driven Changes in the Functional Traits of Milk Thistle [Silybum marianum (L). Gaertn.] Along an Altitudinal Gradient in the Semi-Arid Environment: Perspective on Future Plant Invasion

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.897678

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.897678

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=The elevation is an important gradient across which the environmental variables and plant traits vary and is considered a barrier to the recent global problem of plant invasion. However, certain invasive plants show plasticity traits to adapt and cope with the changes across the elevation. Silybum marianum is one such invasive species widely spread in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Therefore, this research investigates the traits plasticity and invasive behaviours of this plant species across the elevation gradient. Plant functional traits (PFT’s) and environmental variables were recorded in forty different low, middle, and high elevation sites. The plant shows a decrease in plant functional traits, i.e., above-ground plant height/plant, leaf length/leaf, leaf width/leaf, leaf dry weight/plant, vegetative dry weight/plant, number of capitula/plant having the significance of p < 0.05. In contrast, the dry reproductive weight does not change significantly with elevation while the root length increases across the elevation. The soil and environmental variables organic matter, lime percentage, and latitude significantly affected the PFTs. The importance value index of the species was also related to elevation and diversity indices, i.e., Species richness, Shannon-Weiner diversity index, and evenness index, indicating the invasion has strong effects on diversity. The study concludes that S. marianum has traits plasticity across the elevation and affects community diversity. Further investigation is required to understand the invasion and diversity parameters in a better way.