Abstract
Invasive plant species are one of the leading threats to the structure and function of native ecosystems. Increased attention has been given to the mechanisms that drive successful invasions, including those influencing belowground interactions between invasive and native plant species. To determine how the prominent invasive shrub <em>Lonicera maackii</em> (Rupr.) Herder affects a co-occurring native plant, we examined how a root/rhizosphere extract from <em>L. maackii</em> affected growth and mycorrhizal infection of <em>Impatiens capensis</em> Meerb. using epifluorescence microscopy of live roots. We also examined how the presence of a live soil microbial community influenced growth and mycorrhizal infection of <em>I. capensis</em> and how it the altered the effect of <em>L. maackii</em> extracts on these variables. In live soils, exposure to <em>L. maackii</em> extracts reduced mycorrhizal infection, reduced height, and slightly reduced shoot mass. In sterilized soils, exposure to <em>L. maackii</em> extracts slightly increased mycorrhizal infection, reduced height, and generally increased shoot, root, and total biomass. Soilsterilization substantially reduced mycorrhizal infection but increased growth of plants by 1.5–2 times over plants in corresponding treatments in live soils. The overall effect of the root/rhizosphere extractwas dependent on the presence of a live microbial community in the soil, having generally positive effects on biomass in sterilized soils but negative effects in live soils. Despite strongly reducing mycorrhizal infection, removal of soil microbes by sterilization benefitted plant growth perhaps by removal of pathogenic microbes and/or microbes capable of metabolizing allelochemicals of <em>L. maackii</em> into more toxic forms.
Original language | American English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1-11 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society |
Volume | 142 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2015 |
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Ecology
- Plant Science
Keywords
- allelopathy
- mycorrhizae
- soil microbial community
Disciplines
- Biology
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Systems Biology