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PurposePrunus serotina is a tree species native to north America which successfully invades European temperate forests. In the native range, it forms arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM), but few data are available in the exotic range. We thus investigated root-fungi interactions in several deciduous forests of northern France.MethodsWe sampled P. serotina roots in six sites with contrasted soil, canopy composition and invasion history conditions. We combined macroscopic and microscopic observations of coloured root sections with molecular analyses to document the type and identity of mycorrhizae.ResultsWe evidenced characteristic structures of ectomycorrhizae (ECM) (mantles and Hartig nets) in the same roots as AM-like structures. Molecular analyses retrieved several native and exotic ECM fungal species, in particular Piloderma fallax and Xerocomellus macmurphyi. ECM species richness was the highest in sites with the longest history of invasion.ConclusionsP. serotina is proven a dual-mycorrhizal species in the exotic range, forming both AM and ECM. This may enable it to exploit a large range of soil resources, but also to connect to the common mycorrhizal network of ECM-dominated European temperate forest, according to the “enhanced mutualism hypothesis”, thereby explaining its successful invasion.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Black cherry (Prunus serotina) is a North American tree that is rapidly invading European forests. This species was introduced first as an ornamental plant then it was massively planted by foresters in many countries but its origins and the process of invasion remain poorly documented. Based on a genetic survey of both native and invasive ranges, the invasion history of black cherry was investigated by identifying putative source populations and then assessing the importance of multiple introductions on the maintenance of gene diversity. METHODS: Genetic variability and structure of 23 populations from the invasive range and 22 populations from the native range were analysed using eight nuclear microsatellite loci and five chloroplast DNA regions. KEY RESULTS: Chloroplast DNA diversity suggests there were multiple introductions from a single geographic region (the north-eastern United States). A low reduction of genetic diversity was observed in the invasive range for both nuclear and plastid genomes. High propagule pressure including both the size and number of introductions shaped the genetic structure in Europe and boosted genetic diversity. Populations from Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany showed high genetic diversity and low differentiation among populations, supporting the hypothesis that numerous introduction events, including multiple individuals and exchanges between sites, have taken place during two centuries of plantation. CONCLUSIONS: This study postulates that the invasive black cherry has originated from east of the Appalachian Mountains (mainly the Allegheny plateau) and its invasiveness in north-western Europe is mainly due to multiple introductions containing high numbers of individuals.

Plants are connected to habitats by functional traits which are filtered by environmental gradients. Since tree species composition in the forest canopy can influence ecosystem processes by changing resource availability, litter accumulation, and soil nutrient content, we hypothesised that non-native invasive trees can establish new environmental filters on the understorey communities. In the hardwood floodplain forests in Northern Italy, the invasive trees Robinia pseudoacacia L. and Prunus serotina Ehrh. are the dominant canopy species. We used trait data assembled from databases and iterative RLQ analysis to identify a parsimonious set of functional traits responding to environmental variables (soil, light availability, disturbance, and stand structure) and the dominant native and invasive canopy species. Then, RLQ and fourth-corner analysis was conducted to investigate the joint structure between macro-environmental variables and species traits and functional groups were identified. The trait composition of the herb-layer was significantly related to the main environmental gradients and the presence of the invaders in the canopy showed significant relationships with several traits. In particular, the presence of P. serotina may mitigate or even erase the effect of disturbances, maintaining a stable forest microclimate and thus favouring ‘true’ forest species, while R. pseudoacacia may slow down forest succession and regeneration by establishing new stable associations with a graminoid-dominated understorey. The impact of the two invasive trees on herb layer composition appears to differ, indicating that different management and control strategies may be needed.

Research Highlights: We evaluated influence of alien and native trees and shrubs on stand leaf area index to basal area ratio, indicating that both groups provide similar amounts of foliage. Background and Objectives: Foliage traits determine tree species effect on understory light availability. Direct comparisons of understory light availability due to different foliage traits of tree species are conducted less often at the stand level. We hypothesized that light availability is driven by canopy leaf area, and alien species contribution to canopy foliage will be similar to native species due to analogous patterns of biomass allocation in tree species. Materials and Methods: We studied forests dominated by alien and native tree species in Wielkopolski National Park (Western Poland). We measured light availability using the LAI-2200 canopy analyzer (Li-Cor Inc., Lincoln, NE, USA) and we calculated leaf area index (LAI) in 170 stands using published models of foliage biomass and data on specific leaf area. Results: Our study confirmed an impact of LAI on light availability in the understory layer. Analyzing the proportion of contribution to stand LAI and basal area (BA) we found that most alien species did not differ in LAI to BA ratio from native species. The exception was Prunus serotina Ehrh., with a LAI to BA ratio higher than all native and alien trees. However, the highest LAI to BA ratios we found were for the alien shrub Cotoneaster lucidus Schltdl. and native shrubs of fertile broadleaved forests. Conclusions: Our study showed that alien species contribution to shading the understory is comparable to native species, with the exception of P. serotina due to its dominance in the higher shrub canopy strata where it exhibits different patterns of biomass allocation than native trees. Our study explained that invasive tree species impact on light availability in forest ecosystems is mainly mediated by the increased quantity of foliage, not by more effective LAI to BA ratio.

Prunus serotina is divided into five subspecies. Among these, P. serotina subsp. capuli, commonly known as capuli, is native to Central and South America. Its fruits are big, sweet, and consumed by locals in various forms, with the Ecuadorian Andes region providing the best fruit forms of capuli. The objective of this study was to characterize a collection of different genotypes of capuli’s fruit, and their endocarps, found growing in the wild in the Chimborazo, Tungurahua, and Cotopaxi provinces of Ecuador. The fruits were characterized for weight (11.7–50.3 g), diameter (12.4–21.7 mm), height (11.4–19.7 mm), and soluble solids content (SSC) (13.4–27.6 °Brix) across two years. Similarly, the endocarps’ diameters (7.5–12.2 mm) and heights (8.1–13.6 mm) were measured. Significant differences were found for all the fruit and endocarp variables studied. A multivariate analysis showed that all the fruit and endocarp size characteristics, except SSC, were positively correlated with each other within a season. No clear population differentiation was seen among the genotypes from different provinces, suggesting a lack of clear morphological differentiation. The future breeding and selection of a capuli with superior, commercial, large fruit and a high SSC shows great potential.

Ecosystem services (ES) refer to the benefits that people obtain from the ecosystem. In this sense, Prunus serotina is associated with the provision of ES; however, these services have been scarcely studied. The objective of this research was to determine the knowledge and perceptions of individuals in rural areas regarding the importance of ES, as well as the factors that influence them. Surveys were applied in three study areas (Chimborazo, Tungurahua, and Cotopaxi) of the central Andes of Ecuador that detailed the sociodemographic and perception characteristics of ES based on the predefined ES of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA). In the assessment, the interview data were analyzed to obtain the relationships between the variables using Spearman’s correlation in the R-studio software. The results showed that individuals’ level of education, age, and gender play an important role in variations in peoples’ knowledge of ES. A total of 21 ES were identified; the most representative services, according to their ecosystem category, were support (shelter for birds and insects and soil formation), provisioning (food, insecticide, wood, and firewood), regulation (improvement in the quality of air and climate regulation), and culture (scenic beauty and the maintenance of traditions). This analysis of the social perception of ES works as a strategy for the maintenance of Prunus serotina in the orchards and plots of families in the central Andes of Ecuador. The identification of ES through the social perception of their existence facilitates an understanding of the importance of ES in rural localities, which lays the foundation for strategies to be developed in the future for their conservation.

Black cherries are native to North America and make up a complex of five morphologically different subspecies growing in significantly different niches. This study used 474 presence points, 19 climate parameters and altitude to: (1) describe climatic preference of subspecies, (2) associate the most discriminant bioclimatic variables with variation of 17 quantitative morphological descriptors and (3) estimate the potential effect of climate change in the distribution areas of the complex. Altitude and seven climatic parameters played a considerable role in the differentiation of subspecies (subsp.). Climate variability indicated that subsp. eximia , hirsuta and serotina are distributed in more humid and cold environments, while subsp. virens prefers drier and warmer environments. Subspecies capuli exhibited the greatest environmental heterogeneity. Morphological differences included longer, wider leaves and thicker fruit pedicel in subsp. capuli and shorter, smaller leaves in ssp. virens . Even though morphological variation associated with climate was relatively low, the study did show possible effects of climatic variability on morphology and distribution of the P. serotina complex and provided reference information that may be useful for an integrated description of its genetic resources. Climate change could cause genetic erosion due to the loss of suitable habitats. Studies on population genetics can increase understanding of the P. serotina complex and favor efficient strategic guidelines for use and conservation of these resources.

In times of land use changes towards more close-to-nature forestry, the application of bioindicators becomes an interesting tool for effective land-use management schemes. Forest managers are increasingly confronted by alien tree species. Therefore, this case study aimed to investigate the influence of the invasive black cherry (Prunus serotina) on bats (Chiroptera: Verpertilionidae) in pine (Pinus sylvestris) forest ecosystems, in order to identify the potential of bats as bioindicators for a black cherry invasion. In three pre-classified succession stages of the black cherry, the diversity and relative abundance of bats were bioacoustically monitored for a period of 60 nights. From the bat call recordings made during the study period, eight bat species could be identified to species level. Within the succession stages of pine monoculture and light black cherry forest, a comparable bat diversity of eight bat species and three sonotypes with a similar relative abundance were observed. In dense black cherry forest, only four species and one sonotype were detected. Compared to the pine monoculture and light black cherry forest, the overall abundance of the bat community was significantly lower in the dense black cherry forest. Upon evaluation, those bat species associated with the edge and narrow space forager guilds were found to have a high sensitivity to a dense black cherry understory within naturally monocultural pine stands. Their activity patterns indicate that the transition from light to dense black cherry understory can be considered as a potential threshold value for a close-to-nature black cherry understory density in high canopy pine forest stands.

The capulín, or black cherry tree (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) is a tree with edible fruits native to North America that has been used not just as a source of food but also as a source of energy (its wood) since prehispanic times. Mexico has three of the five botanical subspecies in the P. serotina botanical complex, which have not yet been characterized for agricultural purposes. It is desirable to determine whether capulín trees comprise a homogeneous group or whether there are separate morpho-types. This study focuses on the morphological variability of seven populations from the western and central regions of Mexico. We used the Hill & Smith Analysis and graphical methods to analyze and interpret data with respect to 22 quantitative morphological characters and 17 qualitative morphological characters, all from different plant organs. Two major geographically and morphologically related groups were clearly identified, and the morphological variability in the study zone was related to taxonomic, genetic and agronomic factors. The results are discussed from a genetic resources perspective. The genetic, cultural, ecological and agronomic implications of these results are also considered, as well as the potential uses for the species. From these results, an agro-morphological characterization can be developed, in order to identify interesting types of capulín for fruit and seed production in agro-industry, or as rootstock for related species and forestry uses. Our results have implications for the conservation and sustainable use of capulín genetic resources in the central and western regions of Mexico.

Wild cherry is a plant observed in the form of trees or shrubs. This species comprises about twenty kinds of plants and the most popular are two, Prunus padus L. and Prunus serotina L., whose properties and content of phytochemical compounds are subject to studies. Wild cherry contains many active compounds, including tocopherols, vitamins, polyphenols and terpenes, which can have beneficial effects on health. On the other hand, wild cherry contains cyanogenic glycosides. Nevertheless, current research results indicate pro-health properties associated with both P. serotina and P. padus. The aim of this study was to collect and present the current state of knowledge about wild cherry and to review available in vitro and in vivo studies concerning its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antidiabetic activity. Moreover, the current work presents and characterizes phytochemical content in the leaves, bark and fruits of P. padus and P. serotina and compiles data that indicate their health-promoting and functional properties and possibilities of using them to improve health. We find that the anatomical parts of P. padus and P. serotina can be a valuable raw material used in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries as a source of bioactive compounds with multi-directional action.