Growth patterns of Chromolaena odorata in varied ecosystems at Kodayar in the Western Ghats, India

The growth and allocation patterns of biomass and nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) were studied in Chromolaena odorata populations grown in different human modified ecosystems including an Albizia plantation, a rubber plantation, community land and a naturally regenerating forest. The greater shoot length of C. odorata in the regenerating forest could be attributed to the competitive and shady environment created by the mature vegetation here. High relative growth rate, net assimilation rate and reproductive potential of C. odorata populations growing on the community land and in the rubber plantation may be due to the open habitat and frequent disturbances to these sites. In general, allocation of biomass and nutrients to the leaf and reproductive components was low in the regenerating forest. On the other hand, greater allocation to the root component in the regenerating forest may be a strategy for survival and regeneration after the disturbance. Low nutrient uptake and greater resource use efficiency in the regenerating forest could be a response to limited resource availability under the competitive micro-environment created by the fast growing tree species. C. odorata has an exploitative growth strategy and will persist in regenerating open habitats whereas it showed suppressed growth in the light – limited shaded environment.