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Soil conditioning and plant–soil feedbacks affect competitive relationships between native and invasive grasses

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Abstract

Understanding how competition from invasive species and soil conditions individually and interactively affect native performance will increase knowledge of invasion dynamics and can be used to improve the success of restoration plans. This study, conducted in Reno NV, USA, uses a two-phase plant–soil feedback experiment coupled with a target-neighbor competition design to examine the individual and interactive effects of both soil conditions and invasive neighbors on native performance. Study species include invasive species (Bromus tectorum and Agropyron cristatum) and native species (Elymus elymoides and Pseudoroegneria spicata). Results indicate that both plant performance and competitive interactions were influenced by species-specific soil conditioning. Specifically, invasive B. tectorum generated a larger competitive effect on natives than invasive A. cristatum; however, only A. cristatum conditioned soil in a manner that increased competitive effects of conspecifics on natives. Native P. spicata was relatively unaffected by soil conditioning and conversely, E. elymoides was strongly affected by soil conditioning. Few previous studies have examined soil conditioning and the interaction of soil conditioning and neighbor effects that both are potentially important mechanisms in structuring plant communities and influencing plant invasion.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station. This manuscript was improved greatly by comments, advice, and feedback provided by anonymous reviewers and Scot Ferguson.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resource Management, South Dakota State University, Box 2140B, Brookings, SD, 57007, USA

    Lora B. Perkins

  2. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, 89557, USA

    Robert S. Nowak

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  1. Lora B. Perkins
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  2. Robert S. Nowak
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Correspondence to Lora B. Perkins.

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Perkins, L.B., Nowak, R.S. Soil conditioning and plant–soil feedbacks affect competitive relationships between native and invasive grasses. Plant Ecol 213, 1337–1344 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-012-0092-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-012-0092-7

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