Effects of Plantation Community on the Invasion of Solidago canadensis at Chongming Island, Shanghai

Solidago canadensis is one of the most destructive invasive plants in Eastern China and it is also the notorious exotic weed in forest plantations. In order to understand the invasion of Solidago canadensis in different plantation communities, five plantation communities (Metasequoia lyptostroboides, Koelreuteria paniculata, Cinnamomum camphora, Firmiana platanifolia and Bischofia polycarpa) at Chongming Island in Shanghai were selected to investigate its invasion and distribution in these communities. The results show that the important values of Solidago canadensis in these five communities were ranked as:Bischofia polycarpa > Koelreuteria paniculata > Cinnamomum camphora > Firmiana platanifolia > Metasequoia lyptostroboides. After the evaluation of the niche of herbaceous plants in these communities, the niche breadth and niche overlap of Solidago canadensis were in the rank as:Bischofia polycarpa > Firmiana platanifolia > Cinnamomum camphora > Koelreuteria paniculata > Metasequoia lyptostroboides. It has been observed that the higher the tree density in these communities, the less invasion of Solidago canadensis. The results provided implications for controlling this invasive plant.