The effects of Bidens alba invasion on soil bacterial communities across different coastal ecosystem land-use types in southern China

Abstract

Environments in both biotic and abiotic ecosystems have been affected by the colonization of non-native flora. In this study, we examined the effect of Bidens alba invasion on different land-use types along a coastline in southern China. Bacterial communities in each site were determined using 16S rDNA sequencing, and soil physicochemical properties were analyzed using standard methods. Although our results indicated that B . alba invasion did not have a significant effect on the alpha diversity of bacteria, it caused significant differences in soil bacterial community composition between invaded and uninvaded soil across different land-use types. Beta diversity and several physicochemical properties in forest, orchard and waterfront environments were recorded to be more susceptible to B . alba invasion. A high proportion of the variation of bacterial communities can be explained by a combination of environmental variables, indicating that environmental selection rather than plant invasion is a more effective process in coastal microbial assemblages. By comparing topological roles of shared OTUs among invaded and uninvaded soil, keystone taxa in invaded soil were identified. Acidobacteria was the major phyla involved in the invasive process which could be driven by environmental selection. How key phyla react in our experiment should be verified by further studies.

Active defense strategies for invasive plants may alter the distribution pattern of pests in the invaded area

“…These invasive species are commonly found in various disturbed habitats in Guangdong Province, such as in forest margins, farmland margins, orchards, forest parks, roadsides, pond edges, and abandoned farmland where crops are no longer planted. The impact of these invasive species on the local environment has attracted the attention of ecologists (Liu et al 2020a, Wang et al 2020. M. micrantha is a herbaceous vine with a strong climbing ability.…”

“…B. alba, also known as an invasive weed that has a strong ability to withstand drought and soil impoverishment and mainly propagates through seed dispersal. The fruit is an achene with a needle-shaped pappus and produces a large number of seeds, which are widely disseminated through many factors such as humans, livestock and wind (Wang et al 2020).…”

“…Soluble sugar and soluble protein attract insects, which tend to choose plants with richer nutrients as their main food source. Plants with higher soluble protein content can enable herbivorous insects to obtain a higher survival rate, enhanced growth and increased reproduction (Wang et al 2020). Plant soluble sugar can directly stimulate the feeding behavior of insects and is an important nutrient and direct energy source for animals (Cheng et al 2013).…”

Environmental Degradation by Invasive Alien Plants in the Anthropocene: Challenges and Prospects for Sustainable Restoration

“…Fig. 1 The multitude of ecosystem services associated with abiotic/biotic complexities of environment, essential for the sustenance of human life, well-being, and livelihood in the Anthropocene phenotypic plasticity (Blumenthal 2006;Blumenthal et al 2016;Pinzone et al 2018;Pyšek et al 2020;Wang et al 2020;Rathee et al 2021;Allen et al 2021). Nonetheless, these mechanisms may be species/habitat specific in triggering the IAPs spread and environmental degradation.…”

“…Microbial diversity can influence the plantsoil interactions by increasing the vegetation establishment, soil organic matter, efficient mobilization of nutrients, and soil aggregation (Eviner and Hawkes 2008). The use of molecular tools such as 16S rDNA sequencing revealed that invasion of Bidens alba (formerely B. pilosa) remarkably altered the soil bacterial community composition when compared with uninvaded site (Wang et al 2020). In this respect, the diversity of native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was noted as a better tool in environmental restoration than allocthonous species (Caravaca et al 2003).…”