Plant invasions from a belowground nematocentric perspective

• Published in: Soil biology & biochemistry Vol. 77; pp. 213 - 220
• Main Authors: Porazinska, Dorota L., Fujisaki, Ikuko, Purcell, Matthew F., Giblin-Davis, Robin M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Baccharis halimifolia; Biochemistry and biology; Biological and medical sciences; Chemical, physicochemical, biochemical and biological properties; Diversity; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; High-throughput sequencing; Invasive plants; Melaleuca quinquenervia; Nematode; Parasitic plants. Weeds; Physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology of agricultural and forest soils; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; Plant–soil feedback; Soil science; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments; Terrestrial weeds; Weeds; High-throughput sequencing; Invasive plants; Melaleuca quinquenervia; Diversity; Plant–soil feedback; Nematode; Baccharis halimifolia; Terrestrial weeds; Ornamental shrub; Feedback regulation; Plant-soil feedback; Compositae; Plant; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Myrtaceae; Soil science; Nematoda; Sequencing; Weed; Soils; Invasive species; Helmintha; Nemathelminthia; Spermatophyta; Invertebrata; Soil plant relation
• ISSN: 0038-0717; 1879-3428
• DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2014.06.004

Chemical, biological and mechanical control methods are helpful in restricting the progress of invasive plants, but they may lack the full potential for the long-term goal of habitat management and restoration. Interactions and feedbacks between plant and soil microbiota represent potentially important factors regulating and facilitating the invasion process. The tree Melaleuca quinquenervia, a native of Australia, invades all types of habitats in South Florida. Thus far, the invasion has converted >200,000 ha of South Florida ecosystems to closed-canopy M. quinquenervia forests with 60–80% loss of native biodiversity. The shrub Baccharis halimifolia, a native to South Florida, is spreading in coastal Australia. We examined the impact of plant–soil biota feedbacks set in motion by the exotic plants in 2 × 2 factorial (species × location) field and microcosm experiments both within the invasive as well as natural range of both plant species using a metagenetic nematocentric approach. The results were inconsistent and did not lend themselves to simple generalizations as responses of nematode community composition patterns were specific to plant species, locations, years, and even to experimental conditions. For instance, greater diversity of plant-parasitic nematodes was confirmed for both plant species in their native ranges, but only in the field surveys (not microcosms) and only in the first year of sampling (not the second). Equally importantly, the specificity was only observed at the “near species” level allowed by the metagenetic approach and as the identification of nematodes became less resolved, i.e., as identification moved from the “near species”-level to coarser levels of taxonomic resolution, the specific responses generally diminished. •We report on soil biota of two exotic plants in their invasive and natural ranges.•Nematode species were investigated under field and microcosm conditions.•Responses were specific to plant species, locations, years, and type of the study.•Specific responses diminished with coarser levels of taxonomic resolution.•Plant–nematode relationships were too complex to allow for broad generalizations.