Does the invasive species Ailanthus altissima threaten floristic diversity of temperate pen-urban forests?

We examined the influence of the invasive species Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle on the understory of the Fontainebleau forest, a pen-urban forest of Paris (France), by comparing invaded versus control plots. We performed floristic inventories in fixed plots around the base of A. altissima vs native trees in different habitat types of the forest. Our findings suggest that the understory vegetation is significantly poorer and more common under A. altissima than under the other tree species and that the floristic composition is significantly different. Furthermore, the number of A. altissima root suckers growing in the plots was significantly negatively correlated with floristic richness. This effect can be attributed to both interspecific competition and allelopathic properties of A. altissima. These results give an estimate of the threat to biodiversity ascribed to A. altissima in the Fontainebleau forest. (C) 2011 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.