Waiting for the snow to melt…
Thlaspi arvense, a non-native plant in the Brassicaceae family, was first introduced to the Gunnison valley of Colorado in the 1800s (Chew 1975). Long-term studies done at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory suggest the presence of T. arvense has negative impacts on the fitness of native Pieris butterflies (Nakajima et. al 2013, Chew 1975). It may also negatively impact native plants in its introduced range; a closely related invasive mustard found in Northeast North America, Alliaria petiolata, is known to impede growth of native plants by reducing mycorrhizal colonization of plant roots through production of antifungal glucosinolates similar to those produced by T. arvense (Wolfe et. al 2008, Chumala and Suchy 2003). Current research is investigating the capacity of T. arvense to disrupt plant-mycorrhizal associations of surrounding native plants where it grows (Stinson lab unpub.). Thlaspi arvense shows a high degree of phenotypic plasticity for traits such as branching, fruit number and height, which may increase its competitiveness (Best and McIntyre 1974). In order to determine where T. arvense will spread and potentially dominate as climate changes, we measured phenology, specifically timing of seed set, and phenotypic variation of adaptive traits along an elevational gradient. At nine sites, we assessed phenology and phenotypic traits for a subpopulation of plants within consistent 1m2 plots. While there was no significant relationship between change in phenology and elevation, there were significant relationships between phenotypic traits and elevation, with high elevation sites favoring shorter plants with fewer fruits and branches. Low elevation sites had denser populations of plants than medium and high elevation sites, and tended to have plants with more fruits and branches. Many factors that could impact trait plasticity of T. arvense vary predictably along the elevational gradient, including temperature, soil moisture and nitrogen availability (McCain and Grytnes 2010). Knowing that conditions at low elevations favor reproductive success of T. arvense, as climate changes and high elevation climates increasingly resemble current low elevation climates, T. arvense may be able to increase its range and persist at higher elevations.
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