Allelopathic potential of Medicago arborea, a Mediterranean invasive shrub

Anne Bousquet-Mélou (1) , Sophie Louis (1) , Christine Robles (1) , Stephane Greff (1) , Sylvie Dupouyet (1) , Catherine Fernandez (1)

1 IMEP - Institut Méditerranéen d'Ecologie et de Paléoécologie

Biological invasions are nowadays a major problem in ecology. Allelopathy has been shown to be involved in such invasions, but this mechanism has been little studied in France. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the allelopathic potential of Medicago arborea, an invasive species in the French Mediterranean region. Foliar extracts were tested on three target species (Lactuca sativa, Lepidium sativum and Linum strictum). We showed that Medicago arborea has high allelopathic potential to affect the growth and germination of other species. Yellow flax (Linum strictum), native to the invaded area, was the most sensitive of the tested plant species to foliar extracts of Medicago arborea. Our study pointed out the role of allelopathy in processes leading to biological invasion, and more generally in population dynamics.

Keywords: biological invasion; allelopathy; phenolic compounds; Medicago arborea (Fabaceae Fabales Rosidae); population dynamics; biodiversity

Domains: Environmental Sciences; Environmental Sciences; Biodiversity and Ecology

Anne Bousquet-Mélou, Sophie Louis, Christine Robles, Stephane Greff, Sylvie Dupouyet, et al.. Allelopathic potential of Medicago arborea, a Mediterranean invasive shrub. Chemoecology, 2005, 15 (4), pp.193 - 198. ⟨10.1007/s00049-005-0311-y⟩. ⟨hal-01764220⟩