Solidago canadensis invasion in abandoned arable fields induces minor changes in soil properties and does not affect the performance of subsequent crops

Abstract

AbstractThe global fast‐growing presence of invasive species requires urgent action to assess their ecological and economic impact. Although a number of recent works have shown that alien plant invasions can affect native plant communities, soil microbial communities, and soil physicochemical properties, rarely the effects of invaders on all these parameters have been examined at once. Moreover, no studies have focused on the effects of invasive plants on the ecosystem services after the removal of invaders. For this study, Solidago canadensis, one of the most successful global invasive species, was chosen. In the first stage, invasion‐induced changes in plant community and soil properties in abandoned arable fields were assessed. In the second stage, the effects of these changes on crops, Helianthus annuus and Zea mays, were assessed in a laboratory soil‐feedback experiment. The invader reduced substantially the richness and cover of native plant species. It had little impact on soil physicochemical and microbiological properties: Soil moisture was lower, whereas mycorrhizal parameters and urease activity were higher in invaded plots. The experiment revealed minor and inconsistent effects of the invader: It affected the mycorrhizal colonization and shoot mass of crop plants, but the direction of changes depended on the origin of the soil used. In conclusion, although S. canadensis invasion clearly displaces native vegetation, it has few and rather weak effects on soil properties that did not affect the performance of subsequent crops. The results are promising from the viewpoint of restoring the agricultural function to abandoned fields invaded by S. canadensis.