Photosynthetica X:X | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2026.009

Revealing differences in the invasiveness of Sphagneticola trilobata under different light environments based on physiological and morphological plasticity

X.T. ZHENG, H. ZHU, Y.Z. ZHENG, Y.S. WANG, M. DING, J.X. WANG, Z.C. YU
School of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Hanshan Normal University, 521041 Chaozhou, China

Studies of the physiological and morphological characteristics of invasive plants contribute to understanding their invasive capacity. However, it remains unclear whether the same invasive plant species relies equally on morphological and physiological traits to enhance its invasiveness potential across different light habitats. In this study, the invasive plant Sphagneticola trilobata (L.) Pruski was used to examine eight morphological traits and nine physiological traits of the leaf under contrasting light conditions. Results revealed that under full light, growth, biomass, and all physiological traits, as well as most morphological traits of S. trilobata were significantly higher than those under low-light conditions. This suggests that S. trilobata achieves invasion success by altering its morphological and physiological traits. Notably, under full light, the species exhibited higher physiological plasticity but lower morphological plasticity. The study confirms that S. trilobata possesses greater invasive potential under full light, further underscoring the importance of physiological plasticity during the invasion process.

Additional key words: full light and low light; invasion potential; invasive plants; morphological traits; physiological traits.

Received: January 2, 2026; Revised: April 11, 2026; Accepted: May 4, 2026; Prepublished online: May 14, 2026 

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