02600nas a2200253 4500008004100000245012000041210006900161300001300230490000700243520176100250653002702011653001802038653002502056653002702081653002002108653002402128653002602152653002202178653002402200100001702224700001802241700002102259856006602280 2012 eng d00aInvasive warm-season grasses reduce mycorrhizal root colonization and biomass production of native prairie grasses0 aInvasive warmseason grasses reduce mycorrhizal root colonization a327 -3360 v223 a
Soil organisms play important roles in regulating ecosystem-level processes and the association of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi with a plant species can be a central force shaping plant species’ ecology. Understanding how mycorrhizal associations are affected by plant invasions may be a critical aspect of the conservation and restoration of native ecosystems. We examined the competitive ability of old world bluestem, a non-native grass (Caucasian bluestem [Bothriochloa bladhii]), and the influence of B. bladhii competition on AM root colonization of native warm-season prairie grasses (Andropogon gerardii or Schizachyrium scoparium), using a substitutive design greenhouse competition experiment. Competition by the non-native resulted in significantly reduced biomass production and AM colonization of the native grasses. To assess plant–soil feedbacks of B. bladhii and Bothriochloa ischaemum, we conducted a second greenhouse study which examined soil alterations indirectly by assessing biomass production and AM colonization of native warm-season grasses planted into soil collected beneath Bothriochloa spp. This study was conducted using soil from four replicate prairie sites throughout Kansas and Oklahoma, USA. Our results indicate that a major mechanism in plant growth suppression following invasion by Bothriochloa spp. is the alteration in soil microbial communities. Plant growth was tightly correlated with AM root colonization demonstrating that mycorrhizae play an important role in the invasion of these systems by Bothriochloa spp. and indicating that the restoration of native AM fungal communities may be a fundamental consideration for the successful establishment of native grasses into invaded sites.
10aArbuscular mycorrhizas10aBig bluestemm10aBothriochloa bladhii10aBothriochloa ischaemum10aLittle bluestem10aOld world bluestems10aplant–soil feedback10atallgrass prairie10aWarm-season grasses1 aWilson, G.T.1 aHickman, K.R.1 aWilliamson, M.M. uhttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00572-011-0407-x