Direct and Indirect Effects of Invasive Plants on Soil Chemistry and Ecosystem Function |
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Authors: | Jeffrey D Weidenhamer Ragan M Callaway |
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Affiliation: | (1) Department of Chemistry, Ashland University, Ashland, OH 44805, USA;(2) Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA |
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Abstract: | Invasive plants have a multitude of impacts on plant communities through their direct and indirect effects on soil chemistry
and ecosystem function. For example, plants modify the soil environment through root exudates that affect soil structure,
and mobilize and/or chelate nutrients. The long-term impact of litter and root exudates can modify soil nutrient pools, and
there is evidence that invasive plant species may alter nutrient cycles differently from native species. The effects of plants
on ecosystem biogeochemistry may be caused by differences in leaf tissue nutrient stoichiometry or secondary metabolites,
although evidence for the importance of allelochemicals in driving these processes is lacking. Some invasive species may gain
a competitive advantage through the release of compounds or combinations of compounds that are unique to the invaded community—the
“novel weapons hypothesis.” Invasive plants also can exert profound impact on plant communities indirectly through the herbicides
used to control them. Glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world, often is used to help control invasive weeds,
and generally is considered to have minimal environmental impacts. Most studies show little to no effect of glyphosate and
other herbicides on soil microbial communities. However, herbicide applications can reduce or promote rhizobium nodulation
and mycorrhiza formation. Herbicide drift can affect the growth of non-target plants, and glyphosate and other herbicides
can impact significantly the secondary chemistry of plants at sublethal doses. In summary, the literature indicates that invasive
species can alter the biogeochemistry of ecosystems, that secondary metabolites released by invasive species may play important
roles in soil chemistry as well as plant-plant and plant-microbe interactions, and that the herbicides used to control invasive
species can impact plant chemistry and ecosystems in ways that have yet to be fully explored. |
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