Long-term warming legacies facilitate invasive plant growth and inhibit enemy performance

Abstract Unraveling the legacy effects of long-term climate warming is essential to for an integrated understanding of plant invasion success. However, knowledge regarding how these legacy influences invasive offspring and natural enemies remains lacking. This work was built on a long-term warming experiment established in 2012. Here, we selected invasive Solidago canadensis and performed a series of experiments to explore the effects of experimental warming on offspring S. canadensis from its native and invaded range, as well as the legacy effect of warming on three insect species, and three pathogens. The experience of long-term maternal warming facilitated the growth of offspring from invasive S. canadensis, regardless of the presence of insects or pathogens. This experience decreased insect growth when feeding on native S. canadensis, and inhibited pathogens when infecting invasive S. canadensis. Additionally, the presence of natural enemies could modulate the legacy effects of warming and population provenance. These results suggest that long-term climate warming could facilitate invasion success via coordinated increases in growth and defense, and that legacy effects of climate warming and maternal provenance are important for understanding the cascading effects of climate warming.