Intraspecific differentiation and phenotypic plasticity help the invasive success of Xanthium italicum

Abstract Xanthium italicum is a globally distributed invasive weed that causes significant ecological and agricultural damage in the invaded areas. Although multiple mechanisms have been reported to contribute to its invasive success, the extent to which intraspecific differentiation and phenotypic plasticity facilitate this process in invaded habitats remains insufficiently understood. In this study, we conducted a common garden experiment with three nitrogen treatments: no nitrogen addition (NN), low nitrogen (LN: 2 g urea per pot), and high nitrogen (HN: 4 g urea per pot). Ten populations of invasive X. italicum (ten individuals per population, 100 individuals total) and native Xanthium sibiricum (excluded from the NN treatment due to seed limitations) were grown under each nitrogen treatments. Under the NN treatment, we detected significant phenotypic differences among different invasive X. italicum populations across six growth traits (root length, shoot length, crown breadth, base diameter, relative chlorophyll content, and biomass). Furthermore, when subjected to the LN and HN treatments, invasive X. italicum exhibited significantly higher phenotypic plasticity compared with that of native X. sibiricum in biomass and base diameter. Our findings suggest that phenotypic plasticity and intraspecific differentiation may play important roles in facilitating the invasive success of X. italicum in China, potentially increasing the risk of further biological invasion.