# Lindernia dubia (L.) Pennel as an Alien Weed in Central Spain: A Case Study

## TL;DR

Lindernia dubia is an invasive weed in Spain's wetlands, with traits that help it spread quickly and outcompete other plants.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific competitive traits of Lindernia dubia that contribute to its invasive potential in Europe.

## Key findings

- L. dubia has high seed production and germination rates, contributing to its invasive success.
- The species exhibits morphological variability and a short growth cycle, enhancing its competitive advantage.
- It is a dominant weed in constructed wetlands in central Spain, indicating a need for management strategies.

## Abstract

Lindernia dubia (L.) Pennell is a species with invasive behavior outside of its native range of distribution (America), linked mainly to aquatic habitats. This annual species has been acknowledged as a weed in rice paddies in Europe and Asia. Due to the impacts of this invasive plant, some authors have even listed this species as a global invader. The present work focused on spontaneous plant species occurring in seedlings of Typha domingensis Pers. grown in central Spain for the establishment of constructed wetlands. Weed inventory revealed the presence of L. dubia as a dominant spontaneous species in this crop environment. A suite of mesocosm experiments were designed to study the population density of L. dubia versus that of the other dominant plant species, and to determine traits associated with its weedy potential. The results showed that L. dubia presents competitive attributes such as morphological variability, early flowering, long seeding time, short growth cycle, small and light seeds and a high seed production and germination rate (25 °C), meaning a high reproductive capacity in a cycle of about three months for plant growth in non-limiting conditions. The data obtained from this work provide a basis for understanding the weedy potential of L. dubia, and for management decisions of a potentially invasive species, which has been little investigated in Europe