Competition and soil conditions limit the growth of non-native plants in High Arctic tundra

Competition and soil conditions limit the growth of non-native plants in High Arctic tundra | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL Oikos This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 12 May 2026 V1 Latest version Share on Competition and soil conditions limit the growth of non-native plants in High Arctic tundra Authors : Jana Ruethers 0009-0007-8661-1636 [email protected] , Lena Bakker [email protected] , Sebastian Doetterl [email protected] , Simone Fior [email protected] , Cara Magnabosco [email protected] , Kristine Westergaard [email protected] , and Jake Alexander [email protected] Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/authorea.15003199/v1 15 views 12 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract Non-native vascular plant species in the High Arctic are currently restricted mainly to settlements and other anthropogenically disturbed areas. The reasons for this remain unclear, but climate or dispersal do not appear to be the main limiting factors. Instead, biotic interactions combined with soil conditions may play key roles. As the High Arctic becomes warmer and human activity increases, identifying the factors that currently limit non-native plant establishment in tundra ecosystems will be important for managing invasions. To address this, we conducted a growth experiment with three non-native vascular plant species from the archipelago of Svalbard, manipulating temperature, nitrogen availability, competition with four native vascular plant species, and simulated stages of soil development. We found that favourable combinations of environmental factors, including well-developed soils, increased soil nitrogen availability, and higher temperature, enhanced non-native plant performance. However, competition from native plants strongly reduced the growth of non-native plants, especially with elevated nitrogen availability. Together, our results suggest that nutrient limitation and competition from native plants pose a significant barrier to the spread of non-native plants into undisturbed tundra ecosystems, under both current and possible future environmental conditions. Supplementary Material File (supplementary_information.docx) supplementary_information Download 1.54 MB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 12 May 2026 Collection Oikos Keywords Svalbard Vegetation Alien Climate change Invasive Nitrogen Plant Plant herbivore interactions arctic tundra community Authors Affiliations Jana Ruethers 0009-0007-8661-1636 [email protected] ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland View all articles by this author Lena Bakker [email protected] ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland View all articles by this author Sebastian Doetterl [email protected] ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland View all articles by this author Simone Fior [email protected] ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland View all articles by this author Cara Magnabosco [email protected] ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland View all articles by this author Kristine Westergaard [email protected] ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland View all articles by this author Jake Alexander [email protected] ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 15 views 12 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Jana Ruethers, Lena Bakker, Sebastian Doetterl, et al. Competition and soil conditions limit the growth of non-native plants in High Arctic tundra. Authorea . 12 May 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/authorea.15003199/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . 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