Plant-induced changes in soil nutrient dynamics by native and invasive grass species

• Published in: Plant and soil 2011-08, Vol.345 (1/2), p.365-374
• Main Authors: Perkins, Lora B., Johnson, Dale W., Nowak, Robert S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aegilops triuncialis; Agricultural soils; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Agropyron cristatum; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Bromus tectorum; Clay soils; Ecology; Elymus elymoides; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; Grasses; Indigenous species; Invasive species; Life Sciences; Nitrogen; Nonnative species; Nutrient cycle; Nutrient dynamics; Nutrient uptake; Parasitic plants. Weeds; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; Plant ecology; Plant growth; Plant nutrition; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Plant tissues; Plants; Pseudoroegneria spicata; Regular Article; Sandy loam soils; Soil dynamics; Soil fertility; Soil microorganisms; Soil nutrients; Soil science; Soil Science & Conservation; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments; Taeniatherum caput-medusae; Vulpia microstachys; Weeds
• ISSN: 0032-079X; 1573-5036
• DOI: 10.1007/s11104-011-0788-9

Alteration of soil nutrient dynamics has recently garnered more attention as both a cause and an effect of plant invasion. This project examines how nutrient dynamics are affected by native (Elymus elymoides, Pseudoroegneria spicata, and Vulpia microstachys) and invasive (Aegilops triuncialis, Agropyron cristatum, Bromus tectorum, and Taeniatherum caput-medusae) grass species. This research questions whether natives and invasives differ in their effects on nutrient dynamics. A greenhouse study was conducted using two field-collected soils. Effects on nutrient dynamics were compared using an integrated index that evaluates the total nutrients in soil and in plant tissue compared to an unplanted control. With this index, we evaluated whether soil nutrients increased or decreased as a result of plant growth, controlling for plant uptake. We found no consistent support for our hypothesis that invasive grass species as a group influence nutrient dynamics differently than native grass species as a group. Our results indicate species-specific effects on nutrient dynamics. Alteration of nutrient dynamics is not a trait shared by all of the invasive grass species in our study. However, alteration of nutrient dynamics may be a mechanism by which some individual species increase their invasive potential.