Soil microbial communities in restored and unrestored coastal dune ecosystems in California

Most restoration projects involving invasive plant eradication tend to focus on plant removal with little consideration given to how these invasives change soil microbial communities. However, soil microorganisms can determine invasibility of habitats and, in turn, be altered by invasives once estab...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Restoration ecology 2020-09, Vol.28 (S4), p.S311-S321
Main Authors: Parsons, Lorraine S., Sayre, Jordan, Ender, Cody, Rodrigues, Jorge L. M., Barberán, Albert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Aquatic plants
Arbuscular mycorrhizas
Bacteria
Cellulolytic bacteria
Dredging
dune
Dunes
Dung
Excavation
Fungi
herbicide
Herbicides
Indigenous plants
invasive plant
Invasive plants
Land management
microbial
Microbial activity
Microbiomes
Microbiota
Microorganisms
Parasites
Plant removal
Removal
Restoration
Rhizomes
Soil
Soil contamination
Soil mechanics
Soil microorganisms
Soil pollution
Soil surfaces
Soils
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Most restoration projects involving invasive plant eradication tend to focus on plant removal with little consideration given to how these invasives change soil microbial communities. However, soil microorganisms can determine invasibility of habitats and, in turn, be altered by invasives once established, potentially inhibiting native plant establishment. We studied soil microbial communities in coastal dunes with varying invasion intensity and different restoration approaches (herbicide, mechanical excavation) at Point Reyes National Seashore. Overall, we found evidence of a strong link between bacterial and fungal soil communities and the presence of invasives and restoration approach. Heavily invaded sites were characterized by a lower abundance of putatively identified nitrifiers, fermentative bacteria, fungal parasites, and fungal dung saprotrophs and a higher abundance of cellulolytic bacteria and a class of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Archaeosporomycetes). Changes in soil microbiota did not fully dissipate following removal of invasives using herbicide, with exception of reductions in cellulolytic bacteria and Archaeosporomycetes abundance. Mechanical restoration effectively removed both invasives and soil legacy effects by inverting or “flipping” rhizome‐contaminated surface soils with soils from below and may have inadvertently induced other adverse effects on soils that impeded reestablishment of native dune plants. Land managers should consider additional measures to counteract lingering legacy effects and/or focus restoration efforts in areas where legacy effects are less pronounced.
ISSN:1061-2971
1526-100X
DOI:10.1111/rec.13101