Impact of plant invasion on physical, chemical and biological aspects of ecosystems: A review

Abstract

Biological invasion is considered as one of the major threats to native ecosystems. Here, we review the impacts of invasive plants on the physical, chemical and biological aspects of ecosystem functioning. Introduction of invasive plants impact ecosystems profoundly in a multitude of ways by modifying the physical (soil temperature, soil moisture, etc.), chemical (elemental composition, litter dynamics, nutrient cycles, allelopathy, etc.) and biological components (plant community structure, soil microbial biota and fauna). Most studies have shown a negative feedback of biological invasion on the physical, chemical and biological aspects of the ecosystems. Very often, a positive feedback has been generated between the physico-chemical and biological aspects that favour invasion success. Hence, the in-depth and long-term monitoring is needed to focus on the impact of invasive plants on the species diversity, soil biogeochemistry for better understanding of plant invasion processes in ecosystems, so that proper management strategies could be developed for combating the negative impacts of plant invasion.

Plant-soil feedback: incorporating untested influential drivers and reconciling terminology

“…Soil chemical properties can explain invasions and could be considered a component of PSF (Slesak et al 2022). Recent reviews point to large variation in the effects non-native invasive species have on soil properties (Lee et al 2017;Lone et al 2019;Xu et al 2022). Native species can (but not always) develop soil microbial communities that suppress the growth of non-native species, while soils modified under non-native species tend to benefit recruitment of their own seedlings (Perkins and Nowak 2013;Reinhart and Callaway 2006).…”

Effects of natural forest and tree plantations on leaf‐litter frog assemblages in Southern Brazil

“…The cultivation of exotic tree species can homogenise the landscape, cause excessive shading and allelopathic effects, and alter physical and chemical processes involved with the production, quality and depth of the litter layer (Bustamante & Simonetti 2005;Lone et al 2019). The conversion of natural forests into tree plantations is therefore expected to trigger local extinctions of certain frog species and impoverished species assemblages (Machado et al 2012;Saccol et al 2017;Gangenova et al 2018).…”

Invasive shrub Lantana camara L. alters the flora and soils in tropical dry deciduous forests of Central India

“…During the last few decades, these forests have been subjected to anthropogenic disturbances such as grazing, felling and lopping for timber, fodder, and fuelwood collection, which lowered the canopy density and increased the light availability. This led the forests to be severely infested by plant invasions, particularly Lantana (Dar et al, 2019) which impacted the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of ecosystems (Lone et al, 2019).…”