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Organic matter stocks increase with degree of invasion in temperate inland wetlands

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Abstract

Aims

Wetlands provide a variety of ecosystem services, including nitrogen retention and carbon sequestration, and these services are linked through the storage and transformation of organic matter that can be altered by invasive plant species. We hypothesized that within inland temperate wetlands, the degree of invasion by Phragmites australis (Cav) Trin. Ex Steud, Phalaris arundinacea L. and Typha x glauca Godr. X would be positively correlated with soil and ecosystem C and N stocks because these invasive plants produce large amounts of recalcitrant litter.

Methods

We surveyed 24 inland wetlands in Michigan for plant community composition and aboveground biomass, litter, soil, and ecosystem C and N stocks. We also performed laboratory incubations to determine C and N mineralization rates from soil collected under the most dominant species.

Results

Both soil and ecosystem C stocks increased due to the presence of invasive species, as did aboveground biomass C and N stocks. Additionally, there were significant differences in C and N mineralization in soil collected from monocultures of each invasive species (Phalaris > Typha > Phragmites) linked to the quality of their litter (C/N ratios).

Conclusion

These results suggest that wetland C and N stocks are correlated with degree of invasion, and that these effects can be linked to key traits, including litter quality and aboveground biomass production.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Graduate Fellowship to J.M., a Society of Wetland Scientists Student Research Grant to J.M., and the Biogeochemistry Environmental Research Initiative at Michigan State University. EPA has not officially endorsed this publication and the views expressed herein may not reflect the views of the EPA. We thank Spencer Rubin and Ryan O’Connor for assistant in the field and laboratory, Kenneth Elgersma and Carl von Ende for comments on statistical analyses, and Katherine Gross and Jay Lennon for comments on early drafts of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    J. P. Martina & C. J. Phillippo

  2. Kellogg Biological Station and Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI, USA

    S. K. Hamilton

  3. Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

    M. R. Turetsky

  4. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    J. P. Martina

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  1. J. P. Martina
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  2. S. K. Hamilton
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  4. C. J. Phillippo
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Correspondence to J. P. Martina.

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Martina, J.P., Hamilton, S.K., Turetsky, M.R. et al. Organic matter stocks increase with degree of invasion in temperate inland wetlands. Plant Soil 385, 107–123 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-014-2211-9

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