Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Soil changes accompanying invasion of the exotic shrub Cytisus scoparius in glacial outwash prairies of western Washington [USA]

  • Published:
Plant Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Shrub encroachment of grassland is a global phenomenon that can cause substantial and rapid changes in soil nutrient levels and distribution. If the woody plants in question also have the capacity to fix nitrogen (N), the effects on soil nutrients may potentially be large. Cytisus scoparius L. Link (Scotch broom) is an introduced leguminous shrub from the Mediterranean region that colonizes open grasslands. We measured several properties of the surface soil (0-10 cm depth) across advancing fronts of Cytisus to assess changes in soil fertility associated with invasion in western Washington state (USA). Both total soil C and N increased (1.8% and 6.5%, respectively), resulting in a decrease in C to N ratio of 22.5 in uninvaded soils to 21.5 inside Cytisus patches. δ15N signature of surface soil did not clearly demonstrate a signal of N2-fixation across the Cytisus gradient. On the other hand, seven-day laboratory aerobic incubations demonstrated 3 and 2.4 times greater mineralization and nitrification rate, respectively, in Cytisus soils compared to uninvaded soils. Despite this increase in N availability, bioassay plants (Achillea millefolium) grown in uninvaded soils in the greenhouse were ∼ 30% larger than those grown in Cytisus-invaded soils, suggesting that Cytisus may have inhibitory effects on some plants growing in invaded soils. These results suggest that the impact of Cytisus invasion on grassland plant communities may be influenced or tempered by chemical or microbial effects on the soil other than simply increased labile N.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adler P.B., D'Antonio C.M. and Tunison J.T. 1998. Understory succession following a dieback of Myrica faya in Hawai'i Vol-canoes National Park. Pacific Science 52(1): 68–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alfredsson H., Condron L.M., Clarholm M. and Davis M.R. 1998. Changes in soil acidity and organic matter following the estab-lishment of conifers on former grassland in New Zealand. For-est Ecology and Management 112: 245–252.

    Google Scholar 

  • Archer S. 1989. Have southern Texas savannas been converted to woodlands in recent history? American Naturalist 134: 545–561.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Archer S., Scifres C., Bassham C.R. and Maggio R. 1988. Auto-genic succession in a subtropical savanna: conversion of grass-land to thorn woodland. Ecological Monographs 58(2): 111–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bashkin M.A., and Binkley D. 1998. Changes in soil carbon fol-lowing afforestation in Hawaii. Ecology 79: 828–833.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berg B., McClaugherty C., Virzo De Santobv A., Johansson M.B. and Ekbohm G. 1995. Decomposition of litter and soil organic matter-Can we distinguish a mechanism for soil organic matter buildup? Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 10: 108–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Binkley D., Sollins P. and McGill W.B. 1985. Natural abundance of nitrogen-15 as a tool for tracing alder-fixed nitrogen. Soil Science Society of America Journal 49: 444–447.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Binkley D. and Hart S.C. 1989. The components of nitrogen avail-ability assessments in forest soils. Advances in Soil Science 10: 57–110.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell M.M. and Richards J.H. 1986. Competing root systems: morphology and models of absorption. pp. 251-273. In: Givnish T.J. (ed.), On the Economy of Plant Form and Function. Cam-bridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapela I.H., Osher L.J., Horton T.R. and Henn M.R. 2001. Ecto-mycorrhizal fungi introduced with exotic pine plantations induce soil carbon depletion. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 33: 1733–1740.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Daehler C.C. 1998. The taxonomic distribution of invasive angiosperm plants: ecological insights and comparison to agri-cultural weeds. Biological Conservation 84: 167–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis M.R. 1995. Influence of Radiata pine seedlings on chemical properties of some New-Zealand montane grassland soils. Plant and Soil 176: 255–262.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Franklin J.F. and Dyrness C.T. 1988. Natural vegetation of Oregon and Washington. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, Or-egon, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garcia-Oliva F., Sanford R.L. and Eugene K. 1999. Effects of slash-and-burn management on soil aggregate organic C and N in a tropical deciduous forest. Geoderma 88: 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gold W.G., Glew K.A. and Dickson L.G. 2001. Functional influ-ences of cryptobiotic surface crusts in an alpine tundra basin of the Olympic mountains, Washington, USA. Northwest Science 75: 315–326.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansen A.P. and Pate J.S. 1987. Evaluation of the 15 N natural abundance method and xylem sap analysis for assessing N2 fixation of understory legumes in jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata Donn ex Sm.) forest in S. W. Australia. Journal of Experimental Botany 38: 1446–1458.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Haubensak K.A. 2001. Invasion and impacts of nitrogen-fixing shrubs Genista monspessulana and Cytisus scoparius in grass-lands of Washington and coastal California. Dissertation. Uni-versity of California, Berkeley, California, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hibbard K.A., Archer S., Schimel D.S. and Valentine D.W. 2001. Biogeochemical changes accompanying woody plant encroach-ment in a subtropical savanna. Ecology 82: 1999–2011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson R.B., Schenk H.J., Jobbagy E.G., Canadell J., Colello G.D., Dickinson R.E., Field C.G., Friedlingstein P., Heimann M., Hibbard K., Kicklighter D.W., Kleidon A., Neilson R.P., Parton W.J., Sala O.W. and Sykes M.T. 2000. Belowground conse-quences of vegetation change and their treatment in models. Ecological Applications 10(2): 470–483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaye J.P., Resh S.C., Kaye M.W. and Chimner R.A. 2000. Nutri-ent and carbon dynamics in a replacement series of Eucalyptus and Albizia trees. Ecology 81: 3267–3273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koomen I., Grace C. and Hayman D.S. 1987. Effectiveness of single and multiple mycorrhizal inocula on growth of clover and strawberry plants at two soil pHs. Soil Biology and Biochemis-try 19: 539–544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lang F.A. 1961. A study of the vegetation change in the gravelly prairies of Pierce and Thurston Counties, western Washington. M.S. University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lonsdale W.M. and Miller I.L. 1993. Fire as a management tool for a tropical woody weed: Mimosa pigra in Northern Australia. Journal of Environmental Management 39: 77–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mack M.C., D'Antonio C.M. and Ley R. 2001. Alteration of eco-system N dynamics by exotic plants: a case study of C4 grasses in Hawai'i. Ecological Applications 11: 1323–1335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maron J.L. and Connors P.G. 1996. A native nitrogen-fixing shrub facilitates weed invasion. Oecologia 105: 302–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKey D. 1994. Legumes and nitrogen: the evolutionary ecology of a nitrogen-demanding lifestyle.. pp. 211–228. In: Sprent J.I. and McKey D. (eds), Advances in Legume Systematics 5: The Nitrogen Factor. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mueller-Dombois D. and Whiteaker L.D. 1990. Plants associated with Myrica faya and two other pioneer trees on a recent volca-nic surface in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Phytocoenologia 19: 29–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker I.M. 2000. Invasion dynamics of Cytisus scoparius: a ma-trix model approach. Ecological Applications 10(3): 726–743.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker I.M. 1996. Ecological factors affecting rates of population growth and spread in Cytisus scoparius, an invasive exotic shrub. Dissertation. University of Washington, Seattle, Washing-ton, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker I.M., Harpole W. and Dionne D. 1997. Plant community di-versity and invasion of the exotic shrub Cytisus scoparius: test-ing hypotheses of invisibility and impact.. pp. 149–162. In: Dunn P.V. and Ewing K. (eds), Ecology and Conservation of the South Puget Sound Prairie Landscape. The Nature Conservancy, Seattle, Washington, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piccolo M.C., Neill C., Melillo J.M., Cerri C.C. and Steudler P.A. 1996. 15N natural abundance in forest and pasture soils of the Brazilian Amazon Basin. Plant and Soil 182: 249–258.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ronsheim M.L. and Anderson S.E. 2001. Population-level speci-ficity in the plant-mycorrhizae association alters intraspecific in-teractions among neighboring plants. Oecologia 128: 77–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roscoe R., Buurman P., Velthorst E.J. and Pereira J.A. 2000. Ef-fects of fire on soil organic matter in a “cerrado sensu stricto” from Southeast Brazil as revealed by changed in delta 13 C. Geo-derma 95: 141–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shearer G. and Kohl D.H. 1989. Estimates of N2-fixation in eco-systems: the need for the basis of the 15 N natural abundance method. pp 342-374.. In: Rundel P.W., Ehleringer J.R. and Nagy K.A. _eds_, Stable isotopes in ecological research _Ecological Studies 68_. Springer-Verlag, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York.

  • Shearer G., Kohl D.H. and Virginia R.A. 1983. Estimates of N2-fixation from variation in the natural abundance of 15 N in Sono-ran Desert ecosystems. Oecologia 56: 365–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiflet T.N. 1994. Rangeland cover types of the US. Agriculture handbook 389. United States Dept. of Agriculture. 216 pp.

  • Stock W.D., Wienand K.T. and Baker A.C. 1995. Impacts of in-vading N2-fixing Acacia species on patterns of nutrient cycling in two Cape ecosystems: evidence from soil incubation studies and 15 N natural abundance values. Oecologia 101: 375–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SYSTAT 1997. SYSTAT 7.0 for windows. SPSS. Chicago, Illinois, USA.

  • Van Auken O.W. and Bush J.K. 1988. Competition between Schizachyrium scoparium and Prosopis glandulosa. American Journal of Botany 75: 782–789.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Virginia R.A. and Delwiche C.C. 1982. Natural 15 N abundance of presumed N2-fixing and non-N2-fixing plants from selected eco-systems. Oecologia 54: 317–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek P.M. and Walker L.R. 1989. Biological invasion by Myrica faya in Hawai'I: plant demography, nitrogen fixation, ecosystem effects. Ecological Monographs 59: 247–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wedin D.A. and Pastor J. 1993. Nitrogen mineralization dynamics in grass monocultures. Oecologia 96: 186–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler C.T., Perry D.A., Helgerson O. and Gordon J.C. 1979. Winter fixation of nitrogen in Scotch broom _Cytisus scoparius L._. New Phytologist 82: 697–701.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wink M. and Twardowski T. 1992. Allelochemical properties of alkaloids: Effects on plants, bacteria and protein biosynthesis.. In: Rizvi S.J.H. and Rizvi V. _eds_, Allelopathy: Basic and Applied Aspects. Chapman and Hall, New York, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wink M., Witte L., Hartmann T., Theuring C. and Volz V. 1983. Accumulation of quinolizidine alkaloids in plants and cell sus-pension cultures: genera Lupinus, Cytisus, Baptisia, Genista, Laburnum, and Sophora. Planta Medica 48: 253–260.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Witkowski E.T.F. 1991. Effects of invasive alien acacias on nutri-ent cycling in the coastal lowlands of the Cape fynbos. Journal Applied Ecology 28: 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Ingrid M Parker

    Present address: USDA-ARS Exotic and Invasive Weeds Research Unit, 920 Valley Road, Reno, NV, 89512, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Karen A Haubensak & Ingrid M Parker

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA

    Karen A Haubensak

Authors
  1. Karen A Haubensak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ingrid M Parker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Haubensak, K.A., Parker, I.M. Soil changes accompanying invasion of the exotic shrub Cytisus scoparius in glacial outwash prairies of western Washington [USA]. Plant Ecology 175, 71–79 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:VEGE.0000048088.32708.58

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:VEGE.0000048088.32708.58

Search

Navigation