Vegetative propagation of Solidago canadensis – do fragment size and burial depth matter?

Summary Clonal species may benefit from human disturbance because their vegetative fragments may be distributed via soil. Solidago canadensis is an invasive rhizomatous perennial frequently found in ruderal environments. When creating new infrastructure, digging and cutting are two main factors that may influence the spread of S. canadensis into new areas. To have a better understanding of the invasive potential of S. canadensis, we investigated whether S. canadensis was able to survive and grow from stem cuttings as well as from rhizomes. Rhizomes and cuttings were collected from three populations in Eastern Norway. The rhizomes and cuttings were planted in a pot experiment to assess their vegetative ability to propagate. Rhizome fragments (5 and 10 cm long) were buried at 0.5, 10 and 30 cm depths. The cuttings were planted as 15 cm stems, with the bottom 5 cm pushed into the soil. The results showed that rhizome length did not have an effect on survival. Although some sprouting occurred at all burial depths, increasing depth had a negative effect on rhizome survival. In general, development of the cuttings was good, but there were differences between population performance and survival. These results imply that care must be taken when (i) constructing new sites, because digging and transport of soil masses may spread S. canadensis into new areas by rhizomes or cuttings, and (ii) mowing road verges and other ruderal areas to prevent the spread of stem cuttings from one area to another.