Conclusion
Further development of the hitchhiker seedlings will likely increasingly interact with the surrounding vegetation and soil. A continuation of annual vegetation surveys may provide insight for potential vegetation management leading to greater success of hitchhiker seedlings. For example, even though we predict that a larger forb with a competitive advantage may have a larger effect on other species in the community, an abundance of grasses and non-native weedy species could be problematic and negatively impact the success of hitchhiker seedling establishment and development. Therefore, vegetation management strategies should not be neglected.
Further research of plant competition mechanisms will support the explanation of the interactions found or not found among the communities and hitchhiker seedling stock types. |