Abstract
AbstractEuropean swallowwort [Vincetoxicum rossicum(Kleopow) Barbarich] is found in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. It forms dense growth patterns that reduce plant and insect biodiversity, and lab assays show that it produces allelopathic compounds that affect microbial activity. Consequently, we hypothesized thatV. rossicumalters soil microbiome composition and activity in invaded habitats, which may impact ecosystem properties and processes. We sampled soil from a similar time point within a growing season at each of five sites in New York State whereV. rossicumwas both present and absent. We measured bacterial and fungal microbiome composition, available soil nitrogen (N), soil respiration (CO2flux), and soil extracellular enzyme activities. Microbial composition varied across field sites, but only fungal composition was affected by invasion. No significant differences were found between the invaded and uninvaded plots at any of the sites for available soil ammonium, nitrate, or respiration, though extractable N varied greatly between sites. Microbial hydrolytic extracellular enzyme activities suggest decreased protein degradation and increased oxidative enzyme activity withV. rossicuminvasion, which is relevant to soil N and carbon cycling processes. AlthoughV. rossicumimpacted rhizosphere microbial composition and activity, it was not associated with large perturbations in ecosystem function when examined across multiple invasion sites during this short-term study.
Highlights
European swallowwort [Vincetoxicum rossicum (Kleopow) Barbarich] is a herbaceous plant native to Ukraine and neighboring parts of Russia, but it is invasive in southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States (Averill et al 2010; DiTommaso et al 2005)
This study provides evidence that fungal soil microbiome composition was altered by V. rossicum invasion, but bacterial composition was unaffected, and no effects on extractable nitrogen pools or soil respiration were observed
Other studies have shown a tighter link between plants and soil fungal communities than between plants and soil bacteria (Bell et al 2014, 2015; Cassman et al 2016)
Summary
European swallowwort [Vincetoxicum rossicum (Kleopow) Barbarich] is a herbaceous plant native to Ukraine and neighboring parts of Russia, but it is invasive in southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States (Averill et al 2010; DiTommaso et al 2005). European swallowwort [Vincetoxicum rossicum (Kleopow) Barbarich] is an aggressive invader that reduces plant biodiversity and negatively impacts Monarch butterfly survival It forms dense vegetation stands in invaded habitats, potentially impacting ecosystem properties and processes that regulate nutrient cycling, including soil microbiome structure, nutrient availability, and soil extracellular enzyme activities. The rationale for most of these predicted scenarios is based on the antimicrobial effect of the V. rossicum exudates on microbial composition and function To test these hypotheses, five field sites in New York State were identified that contained similar plant communities where V. rossicum invasion was present or absent, and a one-time “snapshot” sampling was conducted.
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