Competition between an introduced and an indigenous species: the case of Paspalum paspalodes (Michx) Schribner and Aeluropus littoralis (Gouan) in the Camargue (southern France).

Paspalum paspalodes, an introduced grass species, and Aeluropus littoralis, an indigenous species, develop abundantly in seasonally-flooded marshes in the Camargue (Rhône Delta, France). Although they occur together in many multispecies communities, neither species occurs when the other is dominat. The cultivation of cuttings of P. paspalodes and A. littoralis in a replacement series in a combination of five proportions (0/100, 25/75, 50/50, 75/25 and 100/0) and four salinities (0,2 4, and 6 g Cl- · 1-1) gave contrasting results for the two species: (1) strong asymmetrical competition in favour of P. paspalodes at 0 g Cl- · 1-1, (2) no significant effect of salinity on the mean above-ground and underground yields per plant for A. littoralis over the range tested, (3) a major decrease in the mean above-ground and belowground yields per plant for P. paspalodes with increasing salinity, (4) a reversal of the competitive balance between the species with increasing salinity. The cultivation of cuttings at high temperatures in a greenhouse in a combination of the same five proportions at two salinities (0 and 4 g Cl- · 1-1) refuted the hypothesis that the introduced species is better adapted to summer temperatures. Because it is not salt-tolerant, P. paspalodes cannot be considered as a potentially invasive species in the Camargue. Its abundance depends on newly created and artificially maintained habitats.