Plant Invasion Has Limited Impact on Soil Microbial α-Diversity: A Meta-Analysis

Custer, Gordon F.; Diepen, Linda T. A. van

doi:10.3390/d12030112

Cited by 26 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Our observation that microbial richness and Shannon diversity did not differ between monoculture and polyculture plots is not surprising because microbial diversity metrics, in general, are not reliable indicators of ecological processes (Shade, 2017). For example, the effects of invasive plant species on soil are well documented, but microbial community richness is rarely significantly affected (Custer & van Diepen, 2020). In our study, plant diversity could be acting on the functions and activity of soil microbial communities, but such impacts might not be reflected in richness metrics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These results are more unexpected than the diversity results because it is generally assumed that intervention above‐ground during restoration cascades below‐ground (Kardol & Wardle, 2010). For example, during plant invasion, invaded areas tend to have different soil microbial community composition than treated or uninvaded areas (Custer & van Diepen, 2020; Gornish et al., 2020; Parsons et al., 2019). However, robust tests of the relationship between restoration treatments and soil microbial communities across different sites are scarce.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does restoration of plant diversity trigger concomitant soil microbiome changes in dryland ecosystems?

Yang

Balazs

Butterfield

et al. 2021

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Drylands constitute 41% of the terrestrial surface and are home to over 38% of the human population, and these numbers are likely to increase as a consequence of desertification and projected population growth (Bestelmeyer et al., 2015;Peters et al., 2015). With 10%-20% of drylands worldwide already defined as degraded, the United Nations has declared restoring degraded drylands as a top priority for supporting human life in the coming decades (Cherlet et al., 2018). Despite time-consuming and expensive efforts, dryland restoration success remains low (Copeland et al., 2018). High temperatures, scarce and variable precipitation, low vegetation cover, and low soil nutrient availability contribute to the vulnerability, and low recovery potential, of these fragile ecosystems (Havrilla et al., 2020;.Low vegetation cover in drylands emphasizes the crucial role that soil microbial communities may play in ecological restoration because microbes provide ecosystem functions normally delivered by plants in more vegetated ecosystems (Blankinship et al., 2016;Costantini et al., 2016). Micro-organisms engineer soil structure that

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does restoration of plant diversity trigger concomitant soil microbiome changes in dryland ecosystems?

Yang

Balazs

Butterfield

et al. 2021

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…The stable microbial diversity indices in the constructed wetland might be because of the compensation from other microbial groups for some microbial variations or the limited impacts of plant invasion on microbial α diversity indices (Custer and van Diepen, 2020). The result of LEfSe showed that the microbial community structure in the river and the constructed wetland was significantly different between the invaded and non-invaded sites (Figure 7).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Invasion of Alternanthera philoxeroides Increased Soil Organic Carbon in a River and a Constructed Wetland With Different Mechanisms

Yang¹,

Li²,

Fang³

et al. 2020

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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“…These alterations can have effects on not only mycorrhizal fungi but also free-living fungi and bacteria, which play a key role in determining resource availability and consequently the structure and composition of plant communities (Torres et al, 2021;Zhang et al, 2019). However, our limited understanding of the microbial communities' response to invasion is due to microbial diversity being strongly dependent on specific site characteristics and edaphic factors (Custer & van Diepen, 2020). Many studies which have recorded the effects of invasive plants on the soil microbial community have found that the direction and strength of the effects are entirely circumstantial (Callaway et al, 2004;Kourtev et al, 2003;Zhang et al, 2019).…”

Section: Effects Of Invasive Species On the Microbial Communitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…to gain generalised effects of plant invasion on the soil microbial community largely reduces our ability to fully understand the effects of invasive plants. Both bacteria and fungi play important roles in the functioning of ecosystems, therefore understanding their responses to plant invasion, which is likely to become a greater threat in the future, is crucial (Custer & van Diepen, 2020).…”

Section: Effects Of Invasive Species On the Microbial Communitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Climate Warming and Plant Invasion on the Soil Microbial Community in Alpine Zones

Moyle

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<p>Human activities have rapidly increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide, which drives global climate warming. Alpine ecosystems, like other cold biomes, are particularly sensitive to warming. Alpine ecosystems form isolated pockets of both plant and animal diversity, creating unique biodiversity hotspots globally. Climate warming causes shifts in alpine plant community composition and facilitates the establishment of numerous invasive plant species. Most of the Earth’s biodiversity is found belowground, and while there is increasing knowledge on this large amount of biodiversity, there is still limited understanding on how it will be affected by global change drivers or the subsequent effects on ecosystem functions. Plant-mycorrhiza associations are particularly sensitive to changes in both temperature and the plant community. In Chapter 2, I investigate the effects of an invasive species (Common Heather, Calluna vulgaris) on the mycorrhiza of a native tussock grass (Red tussock, Chionochloa rubra) and the associated soil microbial community in Tongariro National Park, New Zealand. C. rubra and C. vulgaris have a mycorrhizal mismatch, associating with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and ericoid mycorrhizal fungi (ErM), respectively. Fifteen sites were established in locations that varied in C. vulgaris density. At each site, five circular plots were established. Each plot was 2 meters in diameter and centred on an individual C. rubra tussock. I recorded percent cover of vegetation in each plot and collected soil cores for the quantification of mycorrhiza in roots and soils (75 plots total). I separated C. rubra roots and soils from both cores per plot. I cleared and stained C. rubra roots and quantified AMF structures using a magnified intersection method. The biomass of the soil microbial community was assessed by fatty acid methyl ester analysis (FAME), using the phospholipid fatty acid PLFA fraction to assess microbial biomass and the proportions of different microbial groups (including ericoid mycorrhizal fungi), and neutral lipid fatty acid (NLFA) fraction to assess AMF biomass. I found that higher densities of C. vulgaris resulted in lower AM colonisation in the native C. rubra roots, reduced the diameter of C. rubra plants and reduced overall plant cover of neighbouring plant species. However, the invasion of C. vulgaris did not cause significant shifts in the general microbial groups. In Chapter 3, I investigate the effects of experimental warming and changes in plant community composition, through dominant species loss, on alpine soil microbial communities, globally. I utilize the Warming and Removal in Mountains (WaRM) network, which applies a 2 × 2 factorial warming × plant species removal experiment at both low and high elevations in 9 countries. I received soil samples from each site and used PLFA analysis to characterise the microbial response to treatments. Both warming and removal treatments had no significant effect on the overall microbial biomass. Elevation had a marginally significant effect, suggesting high elevational sites had greater microbial biomass in comparison to the low elevation sites. I found that the removal of dominant plant species in alpine regions had a significant effect on the abundance of both fungi and bacteria in opposing directions, while warming had no significant effects. Elevation had a significant effect on AMF and gram-negative bacteria, showing that incorporating and understanding elevational gradients is important when studying the alpine soil microbial community. In summary, my thesis demonstrates that changes to plant community composition, elicited by the addition or removal of dominant plant species, have significant effects on alpine soil microbial communities, which can exceed the direct effects of warming. Therefore, understanding the effects of shifting alpine plant communities, including an increase in invasive plant species, is crucial in determining the impacts of global change for alpine ecosystems.</p>

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Plant Invasion Has Limited Impact on Soil Microbial α-Diversity: A Meta-Analysis

Cited by 26 publications

References 36 publications

Does restoration of plant diversity trigger concomitant soil microbiome changes in dryland ecosystems?

Does restoration of plant diversity trigger concomitant soil microbiome changes in dryland ecosystems?

The Invasion of Alternanthera philoxeroides Increased Soil Organic Carbon in a River and a Constructed Wetland With Different Mechanisms

Impact of Climate Warming and Plant Invasion on the Soil Microbial Community in Alpine Zones

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