Soil arthropod communities associated with Berberis thunbergii invasion in a temperate deciduous forest harbour more detritivores

Abstract

Abstract Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) is a widely established invasive shrub in temperate forests of the northeastern United States with the potential to alter soil arthropod communities through changes to soil nutrient cycling and acidity. We compared soil arthropod taxa and functional feeding groups between invaded and nearby control areas in a paired observational survey. Community ordination analysis suggested minimal differences between barberry and control samples. In contrast, pairwise differences revealed elevated densities of multiple taxa in barberry‐invaded soils. Among taxa that were able to be defined by functional feeding group and were collected at higher densities under barberry, all were detritivores. For example, barberry‐invaded soils harboured an average of 40% more Isopoda and more than twice as many Diplopoda per unit dry compared with control samples. Differences we observed between barberry and control samples despite the limited study spatiotemporal scope demonstrate the potential for invasions to restructure soil arthropod communities. Observed patterns potentially reflects elevated leaf litter decomposition rates associated with the invasion and results also highlight the need to integrate site‐specific environmental attributes when assessing the impact of invading plants on soil ecosystems.