Nitrogen research shows how some plants invade, take over others

University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Nitrogen research shows how some plants invade, take over others

Plants that take up -- and hold on to -- nitrogen are effective invaders

Biologists know that when plants battle for space, often the actual battle is for getting the nitrogen.

Now, research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln gives important new information on how plants can change "nitrogen cycling" to gain nitrogen and how this allows plant species to invade and take over native plants.

In an article published July 6 in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, UNL biologist Johannes "Jean" Knops demonstrates why one invasive plant species is replacing native species -- it's because of its ability to take up and hold on to nitrogen.

Biologists know that nitrogen is crucial to plant growth that invasive species often grow better and acquire more nitrogen, but have been uncertain about which mechanism allows invasive species to gain an advantage.

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