Leaf phenology, fecundity, and biomass allocation of the invasive shrub Lonicera maackii (Rupr.) maxim in contrasting light environments /

by Lieurance, Deah M.

The invasive Lonicera maackii (Amur honeysuckle) is a woody shrub that dominates the landscape of the Midwest. My objective was to evaluate how leaf physiological and morphological characters relate to biomass allocation and fecundity patterns of L. maackii. Specifically, I investigated the plasticity of L. maackii’s photosynthetic and biomass allocation patterns across a light gradient. Individual shrubs were selected in open (N=5), forest edge (N=23), and forest interior habitats (N=24) in southwestern Ohio. Gas exchange measurements were made on a sub-sample of shrubs throughout the 2003 growing season to evaluate physiological performance and leaf nitrogen content. All shrubs were harvested at the end of the season to assess biomass allocation and fruit production. In most cases, open-grown shrubs outperformed interior/edge shrubs, which performed similarly. Although edge- and interior- grown shrubs were found to be significant sources of propagules, open-grown shrubs should be targeted for control due to unusually high fecundity. Approved Kim J. Brown Assistant Professor of Environmental and Plant Biology