摘要：To explore replacement control of the invasive weed Ipomoea cairica , we studied the competitive effects of two valuable natives, Pueraria lobata and Paederia scandens , on growth and photosynthetic characteristics of I. cairica , in pot and field experiments. When I. cairica was planted in pots with P. lobata or P. scandens , its total biomass decreased by 68.7% and 45.8%, and its stem length by 33.3% and 34.1%, respectively. The two natives depressed growth of the weed by their strong effects on its photosynthetic characteristics, including suppression of leaf biomass and the abundance of the CO2-fixing enzyme RUBISCO. The field experiment demonstrated that sowing seeds of P. lobata or P. scandens in plots where the weed had been largely cleared produced 11.8-fold or 2.5-fold as much leaf biomass of the two natives, respectively, as the weed. Replacement control by valuable native species is potentially a feasible and sustainable means of suppressing I. cairica .
