Statistical analysis of the data
Statistical significance was determined by one-way ANOVA followed by Duncan post hoc tests using IBM SPSS Statistics 19.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). The means were considered to be significantly different at the level P < 0.05 according to the post hoc test. Before performing ANOVA, the data were checked for normality and homogeneity of variance; if the assumptions were not met, the data were log-transformed and retested. Student’s test was used to analyze the significance of the changes in stem photosynthesis in the invasive plants after defoliation. The data are presented as the means and standard errors.