Impacts of myrtle rust on Australian vegetation communities

What is it about?

Myrtle rust is an invasive plant pathogen native from south and Central America. It infects the Myrtaceae family, dominant in Australian landscapes. We compared impacts of this invasive fungus on three species of coastal swamp woodlands, by growing them in the glasshouses individually and together, and comparing healthy with infected plants. We found that the most affected species was Melaleuca quinquenervia, a paperbark dominant tree, and also bigger impacts at he community level than at species level, which could be related to climatically conditions.

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