Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
2 ratings

Friday - June 27, 2008

From: Valdosta, GA
Region: Southeast
Topic: Invasive Plants
Title: Native vs. invasive photosynthesis and CO2 exchange.
Answered by: Joe Marcus

QUESTION:

My group is conducting an experiment on invasive and native plants in Valdosta, Georgia. Are invasive plant species better adapted to live in Valdosta than native plant species? How do invasive species react to hypertonic carbon dioxide levels in their environment as opposed to native plant species? Is there any experiment recommendation you can suggest for us to work on? In other words, we would like to compare the photosynthesis rates of the 2 plants species to see which is better adapted.

ANSWER:

Your questions, while interesting, are too general to be plainly answered.  Native plant species are always well-adapted to the ecological niche in which they naturally evolved and grow.  Valdosta, being a medium-sized city, has many, many ecological niches -  both natural and man-made - which may or may not be well-suited for one native plant species or for a specific invasive species.  

Perhaps an example will help.  You are likely to find healthy populations of the native species, Cyperus retrorsus in the pine woodlands around Valdosta, but are very unlikely to find it on disturbed sites along roadways, streets and in residential gardens in the area.  On the other hand, the invasive weed, Cyperus rotundus is likely to appear in any disturbed soils locally, but is very unlikely to appear in well-established pine forests and will not compete well with C. retrorsus if it does.

How any plant reacts to carbon dioxide levels, hypertonic or otherwise, depends on many factors, but strictly speaking, the species' nativity is not among those factors.  Soil constituents and conditions, water and nutrient availability, sun conditions, neighboring and competing plants, plant health and the individual plant species' genetics will all play a role in that plant's reaction to the levels of CO2 and other atmospheric gas fractions.

You will probably want to give more thought to the design of your experiment before proceeding.

 

More Invasive Plants Questions

Mowing wildflower concerns from Lockhart TX
March 30, 2012 - I went to the Texas Highway Department (Texas Department of Transportation) web site and sent them a concern or complaint about them or independent contractors shredding the roadsides before the blueb...
view the full question and answer

Identification of fast-growing weeds with orange flowers
July 14, 2013 - I have fast growing plants (weeds?) in my heavily wooded backyard. They reach heights of over 6 ft and have orange flowers. I have spent hours searching the web today with no success -the closest thin...
view the full question and answer

Possibility of camas being raised in Edmonton, Alberta
September 18, 2007 - I live in Edmonton, Alberta, and wish to find out how "Camassia (leichtlinii white) will fare in this zone.
view the full question and answer

Removal of trumpet creeper in Elkview MI
April 09, 2010 - Thank you for your informative response about the trumpet creeper. As pretty as it is- it will have to go! Trees are more important. Thanks again!
view the full question and answer

Native vs. Invasive Experiment
July 01, 2008 - I asked you earlier about my group's experiment on native vs. invasive plants in Valdosta. Here are what we chose to work with..native: spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis) and invasive: wild taro (Col...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.